Coronavirus Watch: Stimulus checks are coming next week

Most Americans could begin receiving checks of up to $600 next week as part of the $900 billion coronavirus relief package that President Trump is expected to sign today.

Who qualifies for the checks? You'll get the full $600 if you earned up to $75,000 in 2019. Couples making up to $150,000 will get $1,200. And it provides $600 per child.

The amount will decrease by $5 for every $100 of income above those thresholds, phasing out entirely at $87,000 for individuals and $174,000 for couples.

This is Tuesday's Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network: Here are today's top headlines, as of 11:30 a.m. ET:

• Dr. Anthony Fauci and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday: "I want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so that we can have a veil of protection over this country that will end this pandemic," Fauci said.
• A break for CEOs in the stimulus plan is drawing scrutiny: Business meal deductions. President Donald Trump says it will help struggling restaurants.
• The lawyer for a U.S. college student serving four months in prison in the Cayman Islands for violating strict COVID-19 measures says he will argue for a less severe sentence this week. Skylar Mack, 18, of Georgia, and boyfriend, Vanjae Ramgeet, 24, of the Cayman Islands, have been in jail there for a week.
• 2020 has been the deadliest year in U.S. history: Deaths are expected to top 3 million for the first time, mainly because of the coronavirus pandemic. 
• Americans are more willing to take the vaccine: 46% say they will take the vaccine as soon as they can, according to a recent Paste BN/Suffolk University Poll. That's close to double the 26% in a poll in late October. 

Today's numbers: The U.S. has more than 18 million confirmed cases and 319,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 77.5 million cases and 1.7 million deaths. 

Thank you for subscribing to the Coronavirus Watch!

– Rachel Aretakis, breaking news editor, @raretakis