Here’s the real reason behind the viral matrimonial ad seeking a 'vaccinated groom'

Goan pharmacist Savio Figueiredo came up with the idea after he lost close friends in the second wave of Covid-19

A matrimonial ad demanding a groom with two doses of Covishield vaccine, which has been breaking the internet, has turned out to be a campaign for vaccine awareness by a man from Aldona, Goa.

Last week, Savio Figueiredo, a community pharmacist in Aldona, shared this ad with his mobile number on his Facebook profile to influence his friends on social media site to get their Covid-19 shots. However, Figueiredo’s phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since the striking ad went viral.

He told The Indian Express, “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.”

Read | India logs 92,596 daily Covid-19 cases; 2,219 deaths

Figueiredo came up with the idea to put out an ad like this after he lost close friends in the second wave of Covid-19. He was determined to spread the word on vaccine awareness. “I lost very dear friends in the second wave because they did not get vaccinated in spite of me begging them,” he told the publication.

In the original post, he shared the humourous ad with the details of the vaccination centre and details of the vaccine. As soon as the post went viral, Figueiredo started getting calls from Kolkata, Odisha and Mangaluru inquiring about the matrimonial ad.

“It was meant for just my friends on Facebook. But if it means that some people will get motivated and convinced to get vaccinated, I don’t care about the inconvenience,” he said about the calls he has been getting ever since the ad went viral.

The 58-year-old said he is happy that his ad reached a large audience, stressing that he never meant for it to go viral in the first place. “If even 10 people who are on the fence get vaccinated, I will be satisfied,” he added.