Since March of 2021 Krispy Kreme has been using their delicious original glazed donut to lure people into getting their COVID-19 vaccination, incentivizing those who are reluctant. This Labor Day weekend the major donut franchise will be doubling their incentivization, offering two free glazed donuts to those who are COVID-19 vaccinated.
Krispy Kreme officially announced their new offer on Wednesday (August 25), following the FDA’s approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for people 16+ in the U.S. on Monday (August 23).
Under Krispy Kreme’s offer, “Show Your Heart,” you will get a traditional original glazed donut and an original glazed donut in a heart shaped form—but only between Aug.30-Sept.5. After Sept. 5 Krispy Kreme will go back to only giving away one donut per vaccinated customer until the end of 2021.
Two donuts are always better than one, and getting free donuts after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination seems like a cool way to treat yourself after completing such a major task. Although Krispy Kreme is trying to help America move towards herd immunity through the power of dessert, the company has received some opposition to their tactics.
“So in order to provide incentive to prioritize health, Krispy Kreme is giving away something very unhealthy? Diabetes makes you more susceptible to infections fyi,” a skeptical Twitter user tweeted.
Many critics are calling out Krispy Kreme’s incentives for enabling obesity and adding to the COVID-19 crisis by promoting unhealthy giveaways.
“Great News! @krispykreme is giving away 2 free donuts with proof of you know what. Exactly what we need with a population that is 75% overweight and obese. 78% of c0vid Hospitalizations are obese people. 94% of death come from unhealthy people with a long term disease,” a Twitter user tweeted.
Although Krispy Kreme’s efforts have seen a little backlash, their noble deed hasn’t gone unrecognized.
“Donuts are not inherently unhealthy. Shoutout to Krispy Kreme for at least trying to incentivize folks to get the vaccine,” a Twitter user tweeted.
There are over 320 million people living in America, and since March Krispy Kreme has only given out over 2.5 million free donuts via the initiative, according to their press release. It’s safe to say that Krispy Kreme’s COVID-19 incentive program won’t be solely responsible for the continuous American obesity issue, nor increasing someone’s chances of contracting COVID-19.