Fourth Stimulus Check Not Coming For Vaccinated Americans Only, Despite Claims

Americans have been eager to learn whether or not they would receive a fourth stimulus check, but those who thought they would be eligible for one solely because of their COVID-19 vaccination status are in for a disappointment.

Rumors that a fourth payment could be coming to those who could prove they had received one of the COVID-19 vaccines began after an anti-vaccine account posted the information to Twitter on May 3, while masquerading as a breaking news account. However, the account quickly reverted back to its usual one and detailed that the claim was a joke, before once again sharing information about why they didn’t believe in the vaccine.

Many quickly reacted to the original Tweet, sharing fury over the alleged condition.

News sites like Reuters have since thoroughly debunked the idea of a conditional stimulus check as false.

However, while the recent rumors weren’t true, the idea of a vaccine conditional on vaccine status was previously floated. While the Biden administration hasn’t given any indication of a fourth check at all, let alone one based on the condition of people being vaccinated, John Delaney, a former Democratic Congressman from Maryland, floated the idea as a great incentive to get people to get their shots back in December.

“The faster we get 75 percent of this country vaccinated, the faster we end Covid and the sooner everything returns to normal,” Delaney told CNBC at the time. “We have to create, in my judgment, an incentive for people to really accelerate their thinking about taking the vaccine.”

“If you’re still afraid of the vaccine and don’t want to take it, that’s your right,” he added. “You won’t participate in this program. But guess what? You’re going to benefit anyhow because we’ll get the country to herd immunity faster, which benefits you. So, I think everyone wins.”

Current data from the CDC states that more than 150 million people have received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines, accounting for 45.3% of the total US population. 110 million have been vaccinated entirely, accounting for 33.4% of the population. Those numbers are despite warnings that hesitancy in certain regions to get the vaccine could slow rates overall, with more rural regions benefiting from the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine, which was briefly paused due to concerns about it causing rare blood clots.

As for the current administration’s stance on a fourth check, the idea that one could be coming has largely been seen as unlikely, with other areas becoming the primary focus of Biden’s economic stimulus plans. In addition, income saw a record increase for Americans in April, which could be a sign of a more robust economy and could indicate that a check would no longer be on the horizon.