U.S. renters will owe up to $34 billion in past-due rent by January, increasing eviction filings and imposing punishing financial hardship on millions in just a few months, according to the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA). The report, produced by Stout, Risius Ross LLC, estimates roughly 10 – 14 million renter households — home to 23 – 34 million renters — were behind on their rent by a total of roughly $12 – $17 billion as of September 14.

NMHC’s Rent Payment Tracker highlights the ongoing issues with rent collections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 90.1% of apartment households were able to pay full or partial rent by September 20th, which is a 1.7% drop since the same time last year. NMHC President, Doug Bibby, states that this only highlights “the real-world impact of lawmakers failing in their responsibilities to their constituents.” He continues by emphasizing that action on the part of lawmakers and the Trump administration is necessary in “mitigating, to some degree, the negative consequences of the nationwide moratorium which jeopardizes the stability of the nation’s housing finance system.”

The National Apartment Association (NAA) published an article discussing how the federal eviction moratorium has put additional stress on the apartment industry. NAA is part of a coalition asking Congress to pass federal rental assistance program to help both housing providers and residents affected by COVID-19. The CDC moratorium allows states with stricter provisions to be exempt, but this has caused come confusion on a state by state basis. NAA is pushing the federal government for more guidance on the CDC order as well as more assistance for those affected by the eviction restrictions.

As eviction moratoriums are put in place to protect renters through the end of 2020, smaller landlords may experience their own unemployment as they struggle to cover mortgages, utilities, property taxes, etc. due to loss of income from collections. Many smaller landlords have fewer resources to help withstand lack of rental income. Rental Housing Finance Survey found that over 40% of residential units are owned by individual investors. Brookings contends that federal rental assistance is crucial to not only protecting the housing of tenants, but also smaller landlords.

Freddie Mac released their August Securitization Forbearance Report highlighting some items that occurred in August in the multifamily space. There was a net decrease of 25 loans in forbearance in the month of August, which is the first decline since the implementation of the forbearance program in March. NMHC noted that rent payments slowed in August, with 94.5% of renters making full or partial payments, compared to 95.7% in July.

Fannie Mae hosted a call about their Economic and Housing Outlook this past week. The virus is not a standard economic element making it hard to model the economic recovery. The call looked at general economic trends, monetary and fiscal policy, multifamily market outlook, and the single-family mortgage market. Some key takeaways include September 2020 collections are down 2.5% from year over year, and nationally 28% of properties are offering concessions. 

Flu shots can help alleviate some of the burden on the health care system by helping curb how many severe flu patients need emergency medical attention. If people get the flu after being immunized, it may be less severe. Experts believe that those more susceptible to the flu may also be more susceptible to contracting COVID and for it to become serious. Normally, it is recommended to get a flu shot in October so that it lasts the whole flu season, but since we’re in the midst of a pandemic, September may be better.

Younger Americans have been more likely than older Americans to spread the Coronavirus, largely due to their higher likelihood of working lower paid in-person service jobs like retail or attending in person classes. Coronavirus risk is strongly correlated with income, which influences the ability of a person to socially distance, with lower wage earners being less able to work from home.

Various conspiracy theories and misinformation about the origin of the Coronavirus have been widely circulated on the internet. National Geographic discusses how a combination of factors, including the psychological dynamics of what gets shared on social media and the encouraging of “preprints” of not-yet per reviewed research on the Coronavirus has led to politically motivated misinformation about the virus taking hold.

A new report from the CDC found that a large number of US children dying of Coronavirus are children of color. Examining COVID case data from February through the end of July of people under the age of 21, researchers found more than 390,000 deaths and 121 deaths. Of the 121 deaths, 78% of them were children of color (45% Hispanic, 29% Black, 4% non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native). This disparity is also reflected in the deaths of adults, as twice as many people of color under the age of 65 have died due to Coronavirus compared to that of white Americans.

The US still has an N-95 mask shortage leaving many wondering why the world’s richest country still can’t meet the demand. Many nurses and doctors are still reusing their N-95 masks for weeks and months despite their single-use design. Supply chain managers are now trying to determine how to keep their employees safe. This article shares a timeline of events related to N-95 ordering following the beginning of the pandemic and gives a breakdown about how N-95 masks work to protect wearers.

As soon as the first COVID-19 vaccine is authorized by the FDA, the US plans to distribute it immediately. Vaccines are already being manufactured for distribution, as long as the trials prove to be safe. The US government has also said that they will track who has received the vaccine in a database, so if two shots are required, they can help make sure they receive their second shot.

A vaccine for children may not be available until the fall of 2021. The vaccines that are being discussed now are for adults and could be available by next summer. The clinical trials for an adult vaccine are already in the advanced stages, but they have not been tested for safety to be used on children. This is causing some concern that a vaccine for kids may not be available before the next school year.

A Maine wedding in early August is now linked to 175 reported cases and 7 deaths. None of the 7 deaths attended the wedding. This isn’t the only superspreader event that contact tracers are researching, as cases continue to be linked to the Sturgis motorcycle rally and a choir practice in Washington. The spread to non-attendees can increase rapidly if attendees live in areas that do not enforce social distancing and mask-wearing.

The September 25th episode of the Osterholm Update: COVID-19 discusses the status of vaccine development, the CDC, COVID-19 in the US as the death toll surpasses 200,000, and advice for pet owners.

IHME has changed their daily infections and testing to project the trajectory of infections based on easing mandates and closures and universal mask wearing.