‘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
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 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.
Dating decisions there are driven by chemistry but not science. In one closed group, many listed “no jabbies” as their top dating criterion, while others cheered anti-vaccine advocates as “pure blood freedom fighters”.