By Lori Perkins
After 10 months of sheltering in place and lockdown due to the pandemic, some people are getting vaccinated as either a work-related requirement or consequence of their health issues, or those of their family members (caregivers of the elderly and the immunocompromised are receiving the vaccine). Right now, only those 65 and over and working in the health professions are eligible for the vaccine. However, the vast majority of people under 65 are not eligible for the vaccine, and have no idea when they will be, so those in the dating pool who are vaccinated have become very hot on dating apps from Tinder, Bumble and OKCupid.
According to articles in such varied places as TMZ, The New York Times and GQ, dating apps are featuring selfies of younger people getting their vaccines, and those whose profiles claim to be vaccinated are getting many much more attention. According to a recent NY Times article, an OKCupid spokesperson said, “Getting the vaccine is the hottest thing you could be doing on a dating app right now.”
A recent Vice article reported that a spokesperson for Tinder said it’s noticed a 238% increase in vaccine mentions in Tinder bios, and "a significant increase starting in November 2020 and continuing to rise in December."
According to GQ, it’s not just straight men. According to a recent article, “a quick search for ‘vaccinated’ on Scruff produces dozens of profiles, often with a flirty emoji after the word and a Twitter user based in Ireland posted the Grindr profile of a ‘vaccinated top’ with the foreboding caption.”