Food Stamps Won't Be Withheld

Misbar has determined that this claim is false. The article highlights a report published in July by a working group that includes Dr. Luciana Borio, who is part of Joe Biden’s COVID-19 taskforce. While the report offers recommendations for how to ensure widespread, voluntary access to a COVID-19 vaccine once available, it does not propose withholding any social assistance to those who refuse to be vaccinated:

"Local and state public health agencies should explore collaboration with interagency and nongovernment partners to bundle vaccination with other safety-net services. For example, the WIC nutrition program serves as a key mechanism for connecting low-income pregnant women with nutrition supports and clinical services, and immunization screenings and vaccine promotion are built into the WIC program. Bundling services (eg, food security, rent assistance, free clinic services) that are already being provided to particularly vulnerable populations in the context of COVID (eg, older adults, low-income adults, Black and minority communities) could be a way to build trust and streamline vaccine provision."

The claim that a member of the task force recommends withholding food stamps and rent assistance from those who refuse coronavirus vaccines is inaccurate and a mischaracterization of what is actually being proposed.