Political leaders, government health officials, and the mainstream media are pushing as hard as they can to convince Americans to get vaccinated. The latest lure: get vaccinated, get laid.
On 23 January, The New York Times published an article with the sub-headline “Getting the vaccine is the hottest thing you could be doing on a dating app right now.” This quote is from a spokesperson for OKCupid, a popular dating app.
The article notes,
“Dating app companies confirmed that vaccination has become a hot topic on their platforms. On Tinder, vaccine mentions in user bios rose 258 percent between September and December. ‘Those who have gotten the vaccine are using their status as a way to spark conversation with potential matches about their experience,’ Dana Balch, a Tinder spokeswoman, wrote in an email.”
As for the OKCupid spokesperson quoted in the headline, he is quoted confirming, “Those who indicate they have already received the vaccine are being liked at double the rate of users who say that they are not interested in getting the vaccine… Basically, getting the vaccine is the hottest thing you could be doing on a dating app right now.”
The “Happily Inoculated”
The Times article goes beyond dating services to illustrate how getting vaccinated can get someone other classy advantages:
- “Knightsbridge Circle, a luxury travel service in London that charges 25,000 pounds a year for membership will fly members who were 65 or older to the United Arab Emirates to receive privately obtained vaccines.”
- “A leisure class of the newly vaccinated will mean that hotels, catering services and other businesses will be scrambling to employ bartenders, servers and other staff who are also vaccinated, the better to ensure the safety of all. A vaccination will begin to represent not only safety from the virus but also, for some, a leg up in the job market.”
- “Social media communities for the newly vaccinated (and those interested in being newly vaccinated) have quickly been established. One subreddit, r/Covid19VaccineRats, was created last month by Jamal Fares… he expected it to become a social hub where people might read tales from and about the happily inoculated.”
The New York Times article concludes this about those who get vaccinated: “Some of them will be among the most privileged people in the world.”
TREND FORECAST: The Hornblower Group, which operates cruise ships out of 19 ports including San Francisco, the Port of New York, and Niagara Falls, announced that as of 1 July, all passengers must be vaccinated.
We forecast a great divide between businesses that will require vaccinations and a sizeable public sector that will oppose taking the COVID shot. Those demanding “no shot, no entry” will lose considerable market share both short and long term by banning non-vaxxers.
And, as we have forecast, there will be growing anti-vax movements spreading across the globe that will challenge establishment political parties.