‘If you’re vaccinated swipe left’: dating apps and Facebook groups for unvaxxed singles, and what signalling their Covid-19 jab status says about their politics

Apps for unvaccinated singles have sprung up since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and for some, not being jabbed is the top criterion for choosing dates

Being anti-vaccine has become an ideological flag, an academic says; belief in vaccine falsehoods overlaps with conspiracy theories and anti-LGBTQ narratives

Reading Time:3 minutes

The Unjected app is for people who can prove they have not had Covid vaccinations. Photo: Instagram/@unjectedofficial

Published: 7:15pm, 31 Jul 2023

In a private dating group on Facebook, Renee flaunts herself to like-minded singles as a fit, adventurous Kizomba dancer who, at 35, exudes “inner child vibes”. But her main draw? She is unvaccinated.

The Covid-19 pandemic may have receded, but dating apps, websites and social media groups still offer to unite vaccine-hating singles who believe debunked falsehoods such as that coronavirus jabs alter DNA or cause infertility.

The trend underscores how anti-vaccine sentiment has become an entrenched identity for many who wilfully resist or ignore scientific assertions that inoculations saved tens of millions of lives globally when the pandemic was raging.

A prospective match’s vaccination status determines compatibility not just for Renee, a self-employed Australian, but for many posting in “unvaxed singles” groups that have cropped up on Facebook.