‘Upload Your Vax Status’: U.S. Surgeon General Partners With Hinge To List 10 Tips For ‘COVID And Cuffing Season’

According to the dating app, Hinge, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy spoke with the company to discuss “COVID and cuffing season.”

“Relationships are as important as ever, and that includes our romantic relationships,” tweeted Dr. Murthy. “Grateful to [Hinge] for this conversation on how we can make dating safer during the pandemic.”

“Worried about COVID and cuffing season?” tweeted Hinge. “We asked the [Surgeon General] how to navigate everything from the first kiss to the real talk.”

“Cuffing season” refers to the period between October and March when singles ramp up their search for a significant other in order to increase their chances of spending the end of the year holidays, like Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s Day, with a partner. Esquire magazine designates “cuffing season,” “as the time of year when people couple off to combat the cold and loneliness. When parsed down, it is simply a social construct, partly manufactured from holiday stress and partly biological, that pushes single people into relationships for the winter months.”

The use of the word “cuff” references handcuffs, but is slang in the same vein as ‘hooking up’ or ‘getting hitched.’”

Relationships are as important as ever, and that includes our romantic relationships. Grateful to @hinge for this conversation on how we can make dating safer during the pandemic. https://t.co/mlAcUj9zzO

— Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) October 19, 2021

“Hinge and the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, have teamed up to help singles date this fall,” announced Hinge on their website. “From pandemic-friendly dates to navigating the first kiss, Dr. Murthy answered the biggest questions around pandemic dating.”

“With his advice in mind, Hinge also unveiled the 10 tips to have your best cuffing season this year,” Hinge added.

These tips are as follows: