While 'vaccinated staff' has been the latest marketing mantra of salons and restaurants, sellers and spaces alike to lure in clients or customers, the word 'vaccinated' is finding its way into a matrimonial advertisement. That catapults it right into the category of new 'virtues.'
A couple of matrimonial adverts seeking alliance recently have literally read like..."Tall, handsome, pretty and fully-vaccinated, virus-free" if you must. A description that found its way right next to qualities like 'sense of humour, interest in books and fun-loving nature.'
When White House enlisted dating apps in vaccination push
Last month, Biden administration highlighted a novel plan to encourage vaccination. An effort by popular dating apps to push vaccination by promoting it as the new cool status. Some of the most used dating apps like OkCupid, Tinder, Match, among others chipped in by incorporating vaccination stickers and profile badges on their sites.
BLK, a site for Black Singles, even added a new 'Vaxified' profile badge and gives free boost to those who get vaccinated and display the badge. At the time, Indians thought it would be a far-fetched dream to expect Indians to base their matrimonial alliances or meetings on the vaccination status, but it's happening.
What the Twitter says
Matrimonial ads have been infamous for bluntly reflecting deep-rooted Indian prejudices. But the description Vaccinated along with the number of doses and the vaccine company, is definitely an unexpected but welcome step towards modern science-backed logic.
"Please take Covishield vaccine for better chances of finding a marriage alliance in India. I guess if you are searching for a US bride/grom, Pfizer dose is a must," joked a user while emphasizing the increasing importance of vaccines. But the matrimonial ad posted by one Savio Figueiredo (58) from Aldona, Goa, was to encourage people in his village to take the vaccine.
