Health

Dating apps will enable users to see if their potential match has had Covid jab 

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Love at first spike! Dating apps will enable users to see if their potential match has had Covid jab

  • Dating app platforms will give people badges to show their vaccination status
  • In-app bonuses will be given to those who say that they have been vaccinated
  • Recent poll suggested people are more likely to date someone who had a jab

By Harriet Line Chief Political Correspondent For The Daily Mail

Published: | Updated:

People looking for love online will be able to see whether their potential match has been vaccinated against coronavirus from today in a Government bid to drive uptake.

Dating apps including Tinder and Hinge, as well as websites such as Match and Plenty of Fish, will add features allowing users to show others whether they have had the jab.

In-app bonuses will be given to those who say they are jabbed – though the process will be voluntary with no official verification.

Dating apps including Tinder and Hinge, as well as websites such as Match and Plenty of Fish, will add features allowing users to show others whether they have had the jab

Pictured, some of the stickers available to Tinder users

Dating apps including Tinder and Hinge, as well as websites such as Match and Plenty of Fish, will add features allowing users to show others whether they have had the jab. Pictured, some of the stickers available to Tinder users

In-app bonuses will be given to those who say they are jabbed – though the process will be voluntary with no official verification

Pictured, examples of how the stickers appear on the Tinder profiles of users

In-app bonuses will be given to those who say they are jabbed – though the process will be voluntary with no official verification. Pictured, examples of how the stickers appear on the Tinder profiles of users

Jab lines stretch for ‘MILES’ as Britons wait up to three hours for vaccine after NHS offers shots to over 18s 

Young people in London and Scotland yesterday formed huge queues reportedly stretching miles to get vaccinated as the NHS began offering jabs to over-18s as the Indian variant puts so-called ‘Freedom Day’ under threat.

Footage from Troon, South Ayrshire showed a line of young people queuing for up to three hours to use the town’s drop-in vaccination centre at Walker Hall, which is offering jabs until 6pm.

Meanwhile in Stanmore, Greater London, Belmont Health Centre saw long queues over the weekend after opening for walk-in appointments to over-18s who live or work in Harrow and have yet to have their first jabs.

It comes as daily coronavirus cases rose 65 per cent in a week to 5,341, while 33,496 cases were recorded over the last seven day – an increase of 11,022, or nearly 50 per cent, on the previous week.

Deaths fell in a week from six to four as evidence of the efficacy of the vaccines mounts, as official figures reveal 76.6 per cent of adults have now received their first vaccine jab, and 52.5 per cent have had their second dose.

But Cabinet ministers have admitted they are ‘open’ to delay the final lockdown easing on June 21 if coronavirus data turns ‘bad’ in the next week, and are understood to be making contingency plans to keep restrictions such as masks and work-from-home guidance in place beyond ‘Freedom Day’.

Asked if the easing could be postponed if the data on cases and hospitalisations turns sour, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘We are absolutely open to doing that, if that is what needs to happen.

‘We have said in the roadmap that the 21st of June is the date by which we would not take step 4 before that date and we would look at the data. That is exactly what we are doing.’

Dating platforms will give people badges to display their vaccine status, and some – including Tinder and Muzmatch – will publish information to help educate users.

Bumble will also let people share their Covid preferences, such as whether they are comfortable dating indoors or outdoors, and their expectations about masks and social distancing. 

A recent poll by YouGov suggested people are more likely to date someone who had taken the vaccine.

Ministers hope the partnership between the Government and dating apps will help boost jab take-up in the young, with under-30s set to receive their invites this week. 

Some 31 per cent of adults surveyed said they would prefer to date someone who was vaccinated, while 28 per cent would not date someone unless they had received the jab.

Bumble’s vice president for Europe, Naomi Walkland, said: ‘The Covid conversation is already front of mind for two in three people on Bumble so it’s important to make it easier to feel comfortable and safe on a date.’ 

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: ‘I am thrilled that we are partnering up with dating apps to boost vaccine uptake across the country.

‘This is another incredible asset to our vaccination programme – the biggest and most successful in our history.

‘The vaccine is our way out of this pandemic and we have made incredible progress so far with over three quarters of adults receiving at least one dose.

‘I encourage everyone who is eligible to roll up their sleeves and get the jab – it could save your life and protect your loved ones.’

Shahzad Younas, founder and CEO at Muzmatch, said: “We at Muzmatch are really thrilled to be working with the UK Government on the vaccine campaign.

“We understand the concerns young Muslims have regarding the vaccination, in particular those that are in the process of getting married.

“Misinformation has been spreading at an alarming rate in our communities, which is why we’re glad to work with the NHS to clear up myths about the vaccine and encourage our members to get vaccinated.’

source: dailymail.co.uk