WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The White House hopes the country “swipes right” on vaccination.
In an effort to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated, the White House announced Friday it has partnered with some of the most popular dating apps — Tinder, Hinge, OK Cupid and Bumble — to allow users to easily show they’re vaccinated and have access to premium content.
The announcement comes as President Joe Biden aims to get 70% of U.S. adults at least one shot of vaccine by July Fourth. According to the CDC, right now just 60% of adults have received at least one shot.
“We have finally found the one thing that makes us all more attractive: a vaccination,” Andy Slavitt, the White House COVID-19 response team coordinator said.
Users who show they’re vaccinated will get some perks, including free boosts and free super likes, Ben Wakana with the White House COVID-19 response team said.
He also said users will be “14% more likely to get a match if you’re vaccinated.”
Wakana said with restrictions lifting, they want to incentivize younger Americans to get vaccinated.
“We called them and told them about our push to get to 70% by July Fourth and to their credit they said ‘yes’ on the spot. They said ‘we want to help,'” Wakana said. “What we’re trying to do is make it easy as possible and make it a little bit fun to get vaccinated.”
Wakana said the majority of seniors are vaccinated, but roughly 60 million adults under the age of 40 are not.
“Bottom line is we’re all saying ‘get vaccinated,'” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical officer said.
Fauci says if 70% of the country gets at least one shot by July Fourth, the chances of another surge would be extremely low.
The US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said the biggest hurdles are still access and information.
“The truth is that overall vaccination confidence in the country remains high,” Murthy said.
Murthy hopes with the help of businesses and tech groups — including Lyft and Uber, who’ve already announced free rides to vaccination sites — progress will continue.
