Fact Check: Is the Viral Matrimonial Ad of 'Bride Seeking Vaccinated Groom' Real?

The inoculation drive around the world is being boosted by offering all kinds of incentives. In India, the incentive has touched down one typical desi institution of arranged marriage. Getting vaccinated is undoubtedly of primary priority in the current scenario, including potential marriage prospects. Confused? Yes, vaccination is a legit criterion for this bride who is looking to get married. In a matrimonial advertisement that surfaced online, a woman has claimed to receive both doses of Covishield and wants to marry a man who must be completely vaccinated, along with other desirable traits, obviously. Welcome to the new normal! In what appears to be a cutout of a newspaper ad, a 24-year-old self-employed Roman Catholic girl, is looking for a postgraduate, humourous, patient, independent groom who has received double shots of Covishield. The post quickly garnered a lot of reactions online, leaving many in splits. It also got noticed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who shared a photo of the so-called matrimonial ad on Twitter recently.

“Vaccinated bride seeks vaccinated groom! No doubt the preferred marriage gift will be a booster shot!? Is this going to be our New Normal?" he wrote. Netizens surely seem to believe this is going to be our new normal.

As the hilarious ad went viral, many social media users expressed their excitement to see the interesting criterion added to the list of those seeking alliances. Others raised questions over the advertisement’s genuineness.

A user commented on the tweet, “COVID Vaccines finally enter the Matrimonials space! Perhaps the next one will be - “COVID recovered and Antibodies developed bride wants similarly protected groom.” “Now vaccination is compulsory along with Caste & Religion," quipped another

Well, it so happens that the ad was one “harmless” campaign after all. It was initiated by a person from Goa, in an attempt to drive as many people as possible to get the Covid vaccine jab. Made by Savio Figueiredo the advert had so many convinced that the community pharmacist’s phone has not stopped buzzing since.

His original post titled “The future of Matrimonials’ was shared on Facebook last week. The eye-catching matrimonial ad was posted along with a contact number of a vaccination centre.

Talking to Indian Express, he said “I created the ad with the intention of encouraging people to take the vaccine and posted it on my Facebook page. Someone got the bull by the tail, thought it was real, and now it has gone viral.”

Talking about his newfound fame and seeing the humour in it all, he said he was in disbelief as he started getting calls from as far as Kolkata, Odisha and Mangaluru, enquiring about the marriage prospect.

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here