Yelp introduces 'Covid vaccine filter' so users can cut out restaurants that haven't made their staff get vaccinated
The review app Yelp added a ‘vaccination filter’ that will let users know which businesses require customers and staff to get the shot, a measure it has taken as the Delta variant of the coronavirus rapidly spreads in the United States.
Users will be able to filter businesses by two new attributes - 'proof of vaccination required' and 'all staff fully vaccinated' - when searching for local businesses and restaurants.
Yelp will allow businesses to activate the filters on their own through their accounts with the app, though the site will not be verifying the information provided by their clients.
Customers will also be free to share their first-hand experiences with businesses in their reviews.
The review app Yelp added a ‘vaccination filter’ that will let users know which businesses require customers and staff to get the shot
Customers will be able to use Yelp to search out businesses that meet certain criteria related to COVID health and safety protocols
'These new, free attributes can only be indicated by the business and are completely voluntary for a business to add to their Yelp page,' a spokesperson for Yelp told DailyMail.com.
'They serve as another way to communicate the health and safety measures they’re implementing - similar to what they might put on their own website, or on signage at their business.
For businesses that activate these attributes on their Yelp page, the company will add protective measures to safeguard them from reviews that criticize the enforcement of COVID-19 health and safety measures.
Yelp says that it implemented the new protective measures has seen a recent increase in the number of 'review bombs'
The fast-spreading and highly-contagious Delta variant has led to several retailers reinstating their mask mandates and companies extending their work-from-home policies, just months after they lifted previous restrictions.
As guidelines have evolved, Yelp said businesses could also activate 'masks required' and 'staff wears masks' attributes on their pages.
'Both business owners and consumers have expressed interest in Yelp releasing vaccine-related attributes,' Noorie Malik, Yelp’s VP of User Operations, told TechCrunch.
'For many months we’ve seen businesses implement vaccine requirements for both their customers and staff.
The image above shows a paramedic administering a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Culver City, California on Thursday
'As a result, we’ve also seen a rise in reviews focused on people’s stance on COVID vaccinations rather than their actual experience with the business.'
Several businesses that reported strict COVID-19 safety protocols involving masking and vaccination reported that they had received a barrage of negative, one-star reviews from anti-vaxxers on Yelp and Google.
HOW BUSINESSES CAN ACTIVATE YELP'S NEW VACCINATION FILTER
Richard Knapp put up a sign near his bar, Mother's Ruin, in the SoHo section of Manhattan indicating that only vaccinated patrons would be allowed indoors.
After the image went viral on Instagram, he said he started receiving a torrent of angry messages from anti-vaxxers.
'I've been called a Nazi and a communist in the same sentence,' he told MIT Technology Review.
'People hope that our bar burns down. It's a name and shame campaign.'
One-star reviews on Yelp and Google can have a severely negative impact on a business.
Establishments like Mother's Ruin have required customers to show proof of vaccination before being given service.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced that New York will be the first major city in the United States to require that indoor diners, theatergoers and gym members show proof of vaccination if they want to receive service.
The news on the vaccination requirement for customers was met with mixed reaction from restaurant owners and managers, who say that while they are hopeful this will spur more New Yorkers to get vaccinated, it could also pose problems for those trying to enforce the measure.
The new requirement, which will be phased in over several weeks in August and September, is the most aggressive step the city has taken yet to curb a surge in cases caused by the Delta variant.
De Blasio has focused on getting as many New Yorkers vaccinated as possible while resisting calls to mandate masks indoors, as several cities and counties in California have done.
For businesses that activate these attributes on their Yelp page, the company will add protective measures to safeguard them from reviews that criticize the enforcement of COVID-19 health and safety measures
He said vaccination cards will be accepted as proof of inoculation, along with state and city apps.
People will have to show proof that they have had at least one vaccine dose.
'The only way to patronize these establishments indoors will be if you're vaccinated,' de Blasio said.
'The goal here is to convince everyone that this is the time. If we're going to stop the delta variant, the time is now.'
Yelp said it will use a combination of automated systems and human moderators to protect businesses from negative ‘review bombs’ stemming from COVID safety protocols.
Since January of this year, Yelp says that it has issued more than 100 ‘unusual activity alerts’ on its pages in response to a business getting negative feedback over health and safety protocols.
In total, Yelp says it has removed around 4,500 reviews that violated content guidelines.
In June of last year, Yelp instituted a similar feature allowing businesses to mark themselves as ‘black-owned,’ ‘Latinx-owned,’ ‘Asian-owned,’ ‘and ‘LGBTQ-owned.’
‘Yelp has always served as a trusted source of information on local businesses, helping the millions of people that come to Yelp every day make informed spending decisions,’ Malik said.
‘It’s important that consumers have a resource for relevant firsthand information when engaging with a business.
‘You could argue this is even more important during a public health crisis, making reviews from relevant firsthand consumer experiences critical.’