Coffee Meets Bagel Adds Vaccination Status to Profiles
Contributed by: kellyseal on Monday, April 05 2021 @ 09:49 am
Last modified on Monday, April 05 2021 @ 09:55 am
Dating app Coffee Meets Bagel has put the Covid vaccine front and center on its app, adding vaccination status to user profiles.
According to Fox News[*1] , CMB users will be able to select from one of five options to update their status: fully vaccinated, waiting on an additional dose, planning to get vaccinated, not getting vaccinated, or prefer not to say. When they choose, it will automatically be added their profile. If at any time a user wants to change their vaccination status, they can edit their response.
The coronavirus has upended dating over the past year, with many singles turning to dating apps and virtual chats to meet people and stay connected. The rollout of the vaccine has gotten singles excited to meet in person again, and vaccination status has been a popular topic of conversation. In fact, CMB noted that user bios containing the word “vaccine” or “vaccination” have increased 220 percent since October.
In a survey of its users, CMB found that sixty-one percent said vaccination status was at least somewhat important to them, and 43 percent said they were more likely to want to match with someone who mentions they’ve been vaccinated.
Other apps have noticed increased conversation around vaccination status, too. OkCupid rolled out a list of vaccination-related questions for users to answer and hopefully attract like-minded vaccine enthusiasts. Many users on Bumble and Tinder are putting their vaccination status front and center in their bios hoping to get more “likes” and dates. These companies don’t currently offer a “vaccination” badge or any other status marker for profiles like CMB. Tinder however, is offering 1,000 free Covid test kits to its users who want to meet in person again.
Kang told Fox News that Covid-19 is a serious issue for daters, which is why they decided to add the feature. "When we recently surveyed our daters, the majority (78%) say it would be a dealbreaker if their date does not seem to take COVID-19 seriously," she said.
Still, vaccinations are not a free pass according to public health experts, at least until a large majority of people have received them and there are more controls to prevent the spread of variant strains of the virus. Until then, the CDC guidance is the same: continue to wear masks, meet with people outside in small gatherings, and socially distance.
There are other concerns with checking the vaccination status of your dates, health officials warn. Dating apps can’t verify vaccination status because of HIPPA laws and privacy, so there’s no guarantee a match is telling the truth if he states he’s vaccinated.
Still, the vaccination rollout is making singles more optimistic when it comes to meeting dates in person, and dating apps expect there to be a surge of dates scheduled in the coming months.