Dating can be challenging at the best of times. Spare a thought, then, for single people and those in the dating arena who are not only navigating the complexities of finding a partner online… but are doing so in a pandemic.
When it comes to the list of potential qualities we look for in a partner, there’s the usual: attractive, funny, likes cats and paying for bills. But for those hitting the dating apps this summer, it looks like there'll be another question on their lips: have you been vaccinated?
From today, and to coincide with the vaccine roll-out for under 30s, the Department of Health and Social Care has joined forces with datings apps Match, Badoo, Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, Plenty of Fish, OurTime and Muzmatch to offer incentives to those who add their vaccination status. Vaccinated - or those who say they're vaccinated - daters will be entitled to virtual badges and stickers and most of the apps are also dishing out free in-app bonuses, including 'boosts', which promote daters' profiles.
Providing vaccination status on the dating apps is optional, but data has shown that people are more likely to date someone who has received a COVID-19 vaccination. A recent study by YouGov confirmed that 'vaccinated' is the preferred or essential dating status for 59% of Britons, so the Government appear to be onto something.
It makes sense. The success of the vaccine rollout, which has to date seen a total of 40,460,576 people in the UK receive at least one vaccine dose, while 27,921,294 have received both, hinges as much on a strong uptake among young adults who are less at-risk of encountering complications from a Coronavirus diagnosis as it does on those from more vulnerable groups. But how do you incentivise a group of people who aren’t necessarily directly at risk to go out of their way to get vaccinated? With the promise of sex of course! And what could be more important to the thousands of young and horny people who have been crawling the walls over the past lockdown longing for a shag?
According to the national medical director for NHS England, Professor Stephen Powis, ‘getting the jab is the single most important step we can take to protect ourselves, our families and our communities against Covid.’ Nonetheless, according to a recent ONS survey, vaccine hesitancy is highest among 16-29 year olds, a group that conveniently also tends to be — checks notes — the horniest of the adult population.
Among the many charges stacked up against it, the Coronavirus has been the biggest cock-blocker of a generation. For millions of singletons or polyamorous people up and down the country, the appearance of a virus that spreads predominantly through close human contact has changed just about every facet of modern dating, putting limits on how dates can happen, where and in some cases, with whom. And while the risk of catching an infectious disease from sexual contact has always been there, recent trending hashtags like #vaxxedandwaxed show that when it comes to sex and dating in the pandemic, many people are prioritising safety above all else.
The stats certainly back this up; according to research from the dating app, Inner Circle, ‘nearly three quarters (71%) of Brits may reconsider dating someone if they refused to have the COVID-19 vaccine.’ The app’s dating expert, Charley Lester says: ‘Vaxi-dating is likely to pop into singles' lives over the next few months, many without even knowing it. It’s not necessarily seen as a political statement as we’ve seen with social justice badges on profiles, but more so a practical safety concern. It’s really about sharing the same values as another potential match and staying safe.’
This is certainly a priority for 23-year-old Laila, who says she has long been paying attention to Covid safety on dating apps. ‘I’m not going to meet up with just anyone,’ she says, ‘I don’t know where these people have been!’ She goes on to say that she would “be open to knowing who is fully vaccinated.” Twenty-six-year-old Olly agrees, saying he’d ‘definitely be more comfortable knowing someone is vaccinated’.
Dr Jenny van Hooff, sociologist at Manchester Metropolitan University who specialises in digital intimacy has a less sanguine view about the impact of vaccine status on dating as lockdown continues to ease. ‘I think we might have overestimated how much Covid has changed dating and hooking up,’ she tells me. ‘While some users have “no corona” in their bio, others have continued to meet up. Vaccine status will probably be important to some, but ignored by many.’ She goes on to warn that it’s important to note that dating app users are not a homogenous group and have many different backgrounds and views.
Other daters are more cynical. Jen finds the idea of the government promoting vaccines on dating apps ‘sooo odd’, and says “ it wouldn’t make [her] more likely to get the vaccine,” while James says asking potential matches for their vaccine status wouldn’t necessarily work. “What if they lied?” he asks, ‘dating apps aren't exactly the most trustworthy of places.’ Mariana, 35, agrees, and believes if the apps were to introduce some sort of vaccine status badge, this would need to be verified. ‘You can’t just trust someone who’s told you they are safe,' she says, ‘even when you know them, [and] especially when they are a stranger.’
For other daters, interest in vaccine status can point to wider compatibility issues, given the associations that are often (but not always) made between anti-vaxxers and other political opinions. ‘I definitely wouldn’t date an anti-vaxxer,’ says Lauren (35).
Whatever your viewpoint is on the government’s targeting of dating apps, vaccine status will clearly be an important factor for cautious people to consider as they return to the arena of IRL dating. As we all move into the brave new world of post-pandemic socialising, paying attention to what the people around you need when it comes to feeling safe will be so important. Whether that’s by going and getting your vaccine when it’s your turn, or by keeping on with the hand-washing, mask-wearing and hand-sanitising, we all deserve to feel safe as we move through this difficult period.
Regardless of your relationship status (or the vagaries of the British weather and its impact on our potential to socialise), it’s clear that #vaxxedandwaxed is the new #hotgirlsummer and a trend that is here to stay in pandemic dating.