August 4, 2021
In a significant win for progressives and housing rights advocates, President Biden on Tuesday announced a new 60-day moratorium on evictions, effectively extending the nationwide moratorium that the federal government had allowed to expire three days prior. The move has saved countless families, at least temporarily, from getting kicked out of their homes—just as the Delta variant ravages communities across the country. So let's be clear: This moment could not have happened without Cori Bush. The first-term congresswoman from Missouri spent four nights sleeping on the steps of the US Capitol urging Congress to "do everything possible to protect the nearly 6.2 million households at risk" of being driven from their homes in the middle of a resurgent pandemic. Bush, in a letter to her Democratic colleagues, called upon her experience as a formerly unhoused person who had been evicted three times before she ran for office. "Now that I am a member of Congress, I refuse to stand by while millions of people are vulnerable to experiencing the same trauma that I did," she wrote. Bush's activism, which seized the national spotlight and prompted other high-profile progressive lawmakers, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, to join the cause, eventually convinced Biden to act. It also came as the latest example of Bush's lived experience influencing her work in Congress. As my colleague Kara Voght wrote in her excellent profile of Bush in 2020:
Things can feel pretty grim these days. But let this major win, pretty much singlehandedly delivered by Bush, inspire you. —Inae Oh Advertisement 
The decision comes after a gruesome series of outbreaks. BY TOM PHILPOTT
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SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE
After weeks of lagging vaccinations, 70 percent of US adults have received at least one shot of the COVID vaccine, a positive sign amid rising cases driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant. The CDC reported the vaccination milestone on Monday, about one month behind President Biden’s Fourth of July goal. The news comes amid a surge of cases, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announcing an average of 72,000 COVID-19 cases a day—more cases than last summer. Hotspots in the South have been devastated by COVID, leading to packed hospitals. But there’s some hope. In Alabama, the number of residents starting a vaccine series tripled between July 12 and July 28. In Missouri, the daily average of new vaccinations is nearly 90 percent higher. This trend flies against talk that the unvaccinated won’t be swayed. In fact, some who were previously vaccine-hesitant have been convinced to get the jab. The Los Angeles Times reported some thought they had immunity from a previous COVID infection. And with the uninsured making up the largest unvaccinated demographic among adults, there’s the possibility some are worried about being charged for getting vaccinated. In a dozen states, fewer than 60 percent of adults have received at least one shot, with Mississippi having the lowest rate at 50 percent. Health officials have been warning vaccine stragglers to get vaccinated, noting that breakthrough infections are very rare. While regions with lagging vaccinations would still be vulnerable, this latest target is inching close to the 80 percent vaccination rate that experts say would allow the country to reach some form of herd immunity. —Andrea Guzman Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by forwarding it to a friend or sharing it on Facebook and Twitter.
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