Free Donuts for the Vaccinated

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By Maria Alcantara

To all vaccinated RUC students with a sweet tooth: your prayers have been answered!

Krispy Kreme has recently announced its 2021 campaign to promote Covid-19 vaccinations. Anyone with a vaccine card can now walk into a store empty-handed and walk out with an original glazed donut free of charge every single day for the remainder of the year.

The franchise’s decision comes just as 158 million Americans have gotten at least a single dose of the coronavirus vaccine with about a third of those being fully vaccinated. The donut shop, which has already made headlines before after offering vaccinated healthcare workers and volunteers a free box of donuts for their bravery and hard work, has chosen to extend its enthusiasm to the general public despite concerns that giving free food away could cost more than it gives.

“We’ve always done fundraising and had some type of give back to the community,” CEO Mike Tattersfield informed Yahoo! Finance. “The majority of the United States is a company-owned system, so we pick up the tab.”

Though many have flocked to their local Krispy Kreme’s for a sweet pick-me-up, others have taken to social media to voice their personal concerns along with the irony of offering confectionery as a prize for getting vaccinated when obesity has been a leading killer in the US.

Stephen Colbert, the host of The Late Show, took to Twitter on March 22nd to voice his concern with a tweet that stated, “Krispy Kreme is offering free donuts to anyone who’s been vaccinated. Which is great news for anyone who got the shot but still has a death wish.”

The tweet has gone viral with almost 50,000 retweets and has sparked conversations on the matter, with many thinking it’s not a big deal while others believe it’s this exact attitude that has led the country to house 13% of the world’s total overweight population, the largest percentage of any other country in the world.

When asked about the growing debate, Tattersfield rebutted, “We’re a sweet treat company, [and] if folks don’t want to visit a donut shop, they don’t have to.”

According to the CDC, “Obesity is a recognized risk factor for severe COVID-19, possibly related to chronic inflammation that disrupts immune and thrombogenic responses to pathogens as well as to impaired lung function from excess weight.” With the metabolic disease affecting 42% of US adults, it’s no wonder the franchise’s good deed has sparked outrage, though they insist it isn’t the end of the world.

According to chief marketing officer Dave Skena, “I think anything anyone can do to help show support for those getting the vaccine is a good thing right now, and so we’re just trying to do what little we can.”

In addition to the free donuts for healthcare workers and vaccinated patrons, Krispy Kreme has also promised to give its employees up to 4 hours of paid time off to get vaccinated, furthering their encouragement on getting the country’s vaccination numbers to rise.

For any students that are looking to cash in for doing their due diligence, the nearest Krispy Kreme to campus is located in Haddonfield, just 2 miles away from campus.