Six new charts on COVID-19 this summer

• The daily COVID-19 death rate in the US has been six deaths per 100,000 people since July 1. Seventeen states have death rates above the national average, with Arkansas topping the list at 21 deaths per 100,000 people daily. See coronavirus deaths by state from the start of Q3 through August 18 below. 

• The deadliest wave of the pandemic was in December and January, when weekly death rates peaked for all racial and ethnic groups except for the non-Hispanic Black population. In December, non-Hispanic American Indians and Alaska Natives had the highest weekly death rate: 13 deaths per 100,000.

• Older Americans comprise most COVID-19 deaths, but it's a smaller share than earlier in the pandemic. In the first quarter of 2021, people 65 and older accounted for 79% of the 191,232 COVID-19 deaths. That fell to 67% of deaths in the second quarter. During the same period, the share of COVID-19 deaths among 45- to 64-year-olds increased from 18% to 28%.

See the four other charts and more metrics on COVID-19 at USAFacts.


Pandemic rental assistance isn't getting to people who need it 

Congress sent $25 billion to state and local governments in emergency rental assistance, but less than 13% of the money had made it to renters by the end of June. As the Supreme Court strikes down the federal eviction moratorium, what is the state of emergency assistance for renters nationwide? 

• Large governments like New York City and Los Angeles County redirected funds to the state for distribution. Texas and Virginia spent more than a third of their assistance funds by June's end. New York state distributed less than 1% of assistance, the lowest in the nation. 

• Households receiving assistance almost doubled in June. Over 25% of those were in Texas, with nearly 70,000 households approved that month.
   
• According to the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey, about 15% of renters were behind on rent at the end of July. Out of that group, 29% lost employment income in the previous four weeks. About a third of that 15% of renters are one month behind. Sixty-seven percent who can't make rent are two or more months behind.

Learn more, including the demographics of Americans behind on rent, in this report.

Background check laws, explained 

Firearm background checks are designed to stop people who aren't legally allowed to purchase a gun from buying one. However, several states have enacted laws to fill what they see as gaps in the federal restrictions. USAFacts has a primer on these laws and gaps, including:

• Gun buyers must submit to a background check via the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The system has conducted more than 300 million checks since launching in 1998, leading to more than 3 million denials.
   
• Federal law prohibits people convicted of felony stalking offenses from accessing guns, but people convicted of misdemeanor stalking offenses (e.g., stalking outside of a domestic relationship) can still buy firearms. This is sometimes called the "misdemeanor stalking gap." Several states have passed laws to address this.

What two other firearm ownership gaps do state laws try to fill? Read about them in this explainer.


One last fact