Firearms or SARS-Cov-2: what is the most lethal?

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on mass shootings in six major US cities

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has significant impacts on the US socioeconomic structure. Gun violence is a major public health issue and the effects on this area have not been well-elucidated. The objective of this study was to determine the impacts of the pandemic on mass shootings in six major United States cities with historically high rates of gun violence.

METHODS

Mass shooting data were extracted from an open-source database, Gun Violence Archive. Mass shooting was defined as four or more people shot at a single event. Data from six cities with the highest incidence of mass shootings were analyzed in 2019 versus 2020 (Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and St. Louis). Geographic data were examined to assess changes in each city's mass shooting geographic distribution over time. Quantitative changes were assessed using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), and qualitative data were assessed using ArcGIS.

RESULTS

In 2020, the overall percentage of mass shootings increased by 46.7% though there was no change in the distribution of these events when assessed quantitatively (no change in average ADI) nor qualitatively (using ArcGIS). In the six cities analyzed, the total proportion of mass shooting events was unchanged during the pandemic (21.8% vs 20.6%, p = 0.64). Chicago, the US city with the highest incidence of mass shootings, did not experience a significant change in 2020 (n = 34/91, 37.3% vs. n = 53/126, 42.1%, p = 0.57). Baltimore had a significant decrease in mass shooting events (n = 18/91, 19.8% vs. 10/126, 7.9%, p = 0.01). The other four cities had no significant change in the number of mass shootings (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to use ArcGIS technology to describe the patterns of mass shooting in six major US cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of mass shootings in six US cities remained largely unchanged which suggests that changes in mass shootings is likely occurring in smaller cities. Future studies should focus on the changing patterns of homicides in at-risk communities and other possible social influences.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community violence in Connecticut

INTRODUCTION

Natural disasters may lead to increases in community violence due to broad social disruption, economic hardship, and large-scale morbidity and mortality. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community violence is unknown.

METHODS

Using trauma registry data on all violence-related patient presentations in Connecticut from 2018 to 2021, we compared the pattern of violence-related trauma from pre-COVID and COVID pandemic using an interrupted time series linear regression model.

RESULTS

There was a 55% increase in violence-related trauma in the COVID period compared with the pre-COVID period (IRR: 1.55; 95%CI: 1.34-1.80; p-value<0.001) driven largely by penetrating injuries. This increase disproportionately impacted Black/Latinx communities (IRR: 1.61; 95%CI: 1.36-1.90; p-value<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Violence-related trauma increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased community violence is a significant and underappreciated negative health and social consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one that excessively burdens communities already at increased risk from systemic health and social inequities.

Trends in Hospital Care for Intentional Assault Gunshot Wounds Among Residents of Cook County, Illinois, 2018-2020

Objectives. To examine gun violence with respect to hospital visits for treatment of intentional assault gunshot wounds (IGWs). Methods. IGW-coded visits among residents of Cook County, Illinois, were matched to census zip code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) to map changes in IGW visit frequencies between 2018 and 2020. Patient characteristics were compared across years, and Poisson regression models for the likelihood of an inpatient admission or in-hospital death were estimated. Results. Over the study period, Cook County residents made 7122 IGW-coded hospital visits to 89 Illinois hospitals, resulting in $342 million in charges and 24 894 hospital days. The number of visits almost doubled between 2018 and 2020, from 1553 to 3031; 6 ZCTAs had increases of more than 60 visits. Approximately one third of patients with a visit were admitted, and 6.5% died. Conclusions. Hospital statistics do not include the full toll of nonfatal gun injuries or the costs of related community-level trauma. The health care system remains crucial in implementing epidemiological approaches to violence prevention. Addressing the national spike in shootings will require large investments in community economic development and a professional public safety workforce. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(5):795-802. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306747).

Transnational and Transdisciplinary Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

On 7 January 2020, China identified a virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [...]

A Dual Pandemic: The Influence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Trends and Types of Firearm Violence in California, Ohio, and the United States

BACKGROUND

This study sought to determine the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 stay-at-home (SAH) and reopening orders on trends and types of firearm violence in California, Ohio, and the United States, hypothesizing increased firearm violence after SAH.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Retrospective data (January 1, 2018, to July 31, 2020) on firearm incidents/injuries/deaths and types of firearm violence were obtained from the Gun Violence Archive. The periods for SAH and reopening for the US were based on dates for California. Ohio dates were based on Ohio's timeline. Mann-Whitney U analyses compared trends and types of daily firearm violence per 100,000 legal firearm owners across 2018-2020 periods.

RESULTS

In California, SAH and reopening orders had no effect on firearm violence in 2020 compared with 2018 and 2019 periods, respectively. In Ohio, daily median firearm deaths increased during 2020 SAH compared with 2018 and 2019 and firearm incidents and injuries increased during 2020 reopening compared with 2018, 2019 and 2020 SAH. In the United States, during 2020, SAH firearm deaths increased compared with historical controls and firearm incidents, deaths and injuries increased during 2020 reopening compared with 2018, 2019 and 2020 SAH (all P < 0.05). Nationally, when compared with 2018 and 2019, 2020 SAH had increased accidental shootings deaths with a decrease in defensive use, home invasion, and drug-involved incidents.

CONCLUSIONS

During 2020 SAH, the rates of firearm violence increased in Ohio and the United States but remained unchanged in California. Nationally, firearm incidents, deaths and injuries also increased during 2020 reopening versus historical and 2020 SAH data. This suggests a secondary "pandemic" as well as a "reopening phenomenon," with increased firearm violence not resulting from self-defense.

Public perspectives on firearm sales in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, firearm sales surged to record-breaking levels in the United States. The purpose of this study was to conduct a national assessment of the views of Americans on the change in firearm sales, the perceived impact of the changes in sales, and how these perceptions differ by a recent purchase of a firearm.

METHODS

A multi-item valid and reliable questionnaire was deployed online via mTurk and social media sites in the last week of May 2020 to recruit adult Americans in the general population across the United States.

RESULTS

Among the total sample of study participants (n = 1432), almost a fifth (18%, n = 263) reported buying a firearm during the pandemic. Firearm buyers differed statistically significantly (P < 0.01) from non-buyers based on sex, age, ethnicity, marital status, education, having children at home, employment status, income, political orientation, location, and region of residence in the United States. Those who did not buy firearms during the pandemic were significantly (P < 0.01) more likely to believe that firearm sales and first-time ownership/buying of firearms had increased during the pandemic. Similarly, those who did not buy a firearm during the pandemic were significantly more likely to believe that the surge in firearm sales would result in increased firearm access for children, mentally ill, drug users, criminals, and older adults. In relation to perceived changes in selected public health outcomes attributed to the surge in firearm sales, firearm buyers were significantly less likely (P < 0.01) to believe that an increase in sales could result in adverse public health outcomes such as a higher number of suicides, homicides, mass shootings, and crimes in society. In multiple regression analyses, significant predictors of pandemic purchase of firearms were: having children at home, owning firearms before the pandemic, planning to buy firearms in the next year, knowing someone who was shot or killed with a firearm, and personally experiencing firearm violence in the past (ie, threatened or shot with a firearm).

CONCLUSIONS

This study delineated the characteristics of those who purchased a firearm during the pandemic and the reasons for such purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional research is needed to understand the long-term impact of firearm sales during the pandemic on public health.