Gun Deaths Spiked Across the U.S. During COVID-19 Pandemic

The number of deaths has increased during the pandemic for obvious reasons, but there is one unsuspected uptick: firearm deaths. The U.S. notoriously tops the global list of countries with the highest instances of gun-related deaths.

More than 45,000 Americans died from a gunshot in 2020, the latest year data on the matter is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Texas leads the country in most firearm deaths, which is expected for the state that also boasts the highest number of guns in the country.

The CDC data reveals a trend: the number of firearm deaths has been steadily increasing. Over the last ten years that data is available for, 2010 to 2020, annual firearm deaths in the U.S. increased by nearly 43%.

Although the numbers have been on the rise, there is a noticeable increase from 2019 to 2020. During this period in the early days of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began.

No research has been conducted yet that identifies specific contributing factors to the increase in firearm deaths during this period, it is notable that it coincides with the onset of a global pandemic.

While the data shows the trend, the question of why still looms, signaling that perhaps more research is needed to understand what is causing the ever-increasing number of firearm deaths in the United States.