Dating app's new feature allows for COVID-19 vaccination status-based dating
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- As qualifications broaden for who can receive the COVID-19 vaccine, singles potentially have a new criteria by which to filter their prospective dates. One Bay Area-based dating app wants to make the awkward conversation easier.
Dating during a pandemic looks different.
"Eventually we are going to want to meet up," said Dawoon Kang, Coffee Meets Bagel Co-Founder and Chief Dating Officer.
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Bay Area-based dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel, wants to eliminate the awkwardness of asking others about their coronavirus vaccination status. The app now has a feature that lets singles declare whether they're fully vaccinated, waiting on an additional dose, planning to get vaccinated, not getting vaccinated, or prefer not to say.
Kang says the app has been surveying its users during the pandemic.
"78% of them have told us it's a deal breaker if their date doesn't take COVID seriously," said Kang.
"43% of them have mentioned that if they come across a profile that says that they've been vaccinated they're more likely to actually like the profile," she continued.
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Reaction by singles dating during the pandemic is mixed. Cheryl Glickman is an essential worker who has been vaccinated since December.
"I think it's really important and I think it's quite valuable," said Glickman.
"For me I would like to know if someone is either vaccinated or plans on being vaccinated because that's an important aspect of life moving forward for me in terms of dating," she continued.
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Ethan Melloul splits his time working between Palo Alto and Houston.
"The way that people react to COVID in Texas verse how it is in California, I feel like it's two opposite ends of the spectrum," said Melloul.
He believes the filter could lead to people ruling out a great match.
"I don't think it's necessarily fair to judge somebody based on whether they got vaccinated or not without necessarily understanding why," said Melloul.
"We wanted to make it easy for them to have that conversation so that's why we added this feature," said Kang.
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As online dating profiles sometimes go the app has no way to verify vaccination status.
"I would hope that people would be honest about it," said Glickman.
App based dating with a new twist most of us wouldn't have imagined pre-pandemic.
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