Treating Gun Violence As A 'Serious Public Health Threat'

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Firearm-related injuries are among the 5 leading causes of death for people ages 1-64 in the United States, according to the CDC. In 2019, there were 39,707 firearm-related deaths in the United States. That's an average of 109 deaths per day. Firearm-related injuries are harder to quantify, but the Gun Violence Archive reports that there were over 40,000 last year.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has called gun violence a "serious public health threat." She's the first CDC Director to make strong public statements about gun violence since 1999. For decades, gun violence research received no federal funding. That's in large part because of pressure from the NRA.

Once again, the United States is investing in a public health approach to stemming gun violence. Dr. Mark Rosenberg, founding director of CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, explains what this means.

Additional reporting in this episode from NPR's Eric Westervelt.

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This episode was produced by Eliza Dennis. It was edited by Jeanette Woods and Denice Rios. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.