Some Americans are already seeing the latest round of stimulus payments hit their bank accounts, as the first batch of funds is rolled out.
The payments — worth up to $1,400 per person — were included in the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package just signed by President Joe Biden. If you don’t see it yet, don’t panic. A Treasury Department official told reporters on a Friday call that checks will continue rolling out in the «coming weeks.» Paper checks are coming too. Though not as speedy as direct deposit, paper checks and prepared debit cards will be sent out before the end of the month. Starting Monday, you can check the status of your payment using the IRS Get My Payment tool online. No action is required for most people to receive the money. Social Security recipients and those who receive Veteran Affairs benefits should also receive the money automatically even if they don’t file taxes. CNN’s own Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco walk through exactly how much you can expect and when you can expect it on this special CNN Political Briefing podcast. Vaccine eligibility will tick up this week So far, more than 69 million Americans have gotten at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine while more than 36.9 million are fully vaccinated, according to CDC data. But the US is still in a very vulnerable place. Covid-19 is still spreading rampantly and must be tackled aggressively if we want life to get back to normal soon, Fauci told CNN on Sunday morning. Even though daily new cases have dropped since January, «over the last couple of weeks, they’ve plateaued,» said the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. «When you see a plateau at a level as high as 60,000 cases a day, that is a very vulnerable time to have a surge, to go back up. That’s what exactly happened in Europe.» In efforts to boost inoculation numbers alongside those concerns, state leaders across the country are announcing expanded vaccine eligibility: In Alaska, people living or working in the state who are 16 or older can get the vaccine.
