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If your first impulse in the wake of Krispy Kreme announcing a free glazed doughnut every day for the rest of 2021 to anyone who flashes a COVID-19 vaccine card is to stand on your digital soap box and proclaim why this is Bad, I genuinely hope you find the happiness you’re looking for and make things right with your father.
For those who have been vaccinated as of Monday, 277 free Krispy Kreme doughnuts (23 dozens) are available for the taking so as long as you bake it into your morning routine.
“We all want to get COVID-19 behind us as fast as possible and we want to support everyone doing their part to make the country safe by getting vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available to them,” Krispy Kreme Chief Marketing Officer Dave Skena said in a statement.
While reasonable people are viewing this gesture as well-intentioned, so many people were outraged that Krispy Kreme’s CEO was forced to defend the decision. Here are some of the
Krispy Kreme offering free doughnuts for getting vaccinated is like Marlboro offering free cigarettes for getting a flu shot. We have an obesity epidemic in this country that is killing us. Corporations that ride the COVID-19 vaccine as a marketing ploy for junk food is terrible.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) March 22, 2021
High blood glucose ( even in non diabetics) driven by high glycaemic index carbs is a risk factor for #COVIDー19 mortality.
Krispy Kreme is offering FREE doughnuts for people getting the vaccine.
You really couldn’t make it up https://t.co/iJzOMZSv5t
— Dr Aseem Malhotra (@DrAseemMalhotra) March 22, 2021
It really bothers me how little we promote healthy eating, building our immune system or exercising in this country…. for example, Krispy Kreme has a new incentive to get a free donut with proof of your covid vaccine. 💆🏻♀️🤪
— Lauren Gruel (@LaurenGruel) March 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/WPeriyasamy/status/1375173305980874756?s=20
https://twitter.com/E5SDI_69/status/1374740077952241667?s=20
Thousands also flooded Krispy Kreme’s Facebook page to rip the brand and promote misinformation about the vaccine. VICE aggregated some doozies.
— “Looks like you are part of indoctrination [sic] of American citizens. If we’re good and follow along we get presents. Soon we can get all kinds of free stuff if we go along with getting micro-chipped too, is that how it’s going to work?”
—“Hey I took my vitamin C and Zinc as preventative. Do I get a free donut for doing my part as well?”
— “Wow KK, I didn’t know you were discriminating against people who feel it’s their body, their choice to not get a rushed experimental shot from the government!? That’s like saying if you are straight you get a free donut!”
—“Would you like the unvaccinated to wear a yellow star on their chest? Since you’ve decided to stray into an area that has nothing to do with your actual business I’d like to know how far you’re willing to go.”
In response, Krispy Kreme CEO Mike Tattersfield defended the initiative on Yahoo Finance Live.
“We’re a sweet treat company, [and] if folks don’t want to visit a donut shop, they don’t have to.”
Tattersfield added that if “folks that want to get a vaccine, if they decide to combine a Krispy Kreme pickup [for] a doughnut, they can. That’s how we look at it…. generosity.”
A palate cleanser:
Krispy Kreme Offers Vaccinated Customers Free Ride On Glaze Conveyor Belt https://t.co/meRnxMA4mL pic.twitter.com/ldItvh2y9w
— The Onion (@TheOnion) March 24, 2021