MMWR News Synopsis
Friday, July 8, 2022
- County-Level Social Vulnerability and Emergency Department Visits for Firearm Injuries — 10 U.S. Jurisdictions, January 1, 2018–December 31, 2021
- Factors Associated with Severe Outcomes Among Immunocompromised Adults Hospitalized for COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 10 States, March 2020–February 2022
- Quick Stats
Articles
County-Level Social Vulnerability and Emergency Department Visits for Firearm Injuries — 10 U.S. Jurisdictions, January 1, 2018–December 31, 2021
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Timely and local firearm injury data can help inform tailored violence prevention strategies and partnerships to reduce inequities in risk for firearm injuries. CDC analyzed county-level data on emergency department (ED) visits for firearm injuries by community social vulnerability level in 10 U.S. jurisdictions. Social vulnerability is a measure to assess social and economic disadvantages communities face. The report found that counties with higher social vulnerability, including more poverty, unemployment, lower incomes, and lower educational levels, experienced higher percentages of ED visits for firearm injuries. Timely and local-level data can be used to help identify communities experiencing a high percentage of ED visits for firearm injuries. The findings of this study underscore the importance of understanding historical and structural factors impacting specific communities to inform tailored prevention strategies, interventions, and partnerships to reduce inequities in risk for firearm injuries. States and communities can use the best available evidence to implement comprehensive prevention strategies that address inequities in the social and structural conditions that contribute to risk for violence, including creating protective community environments, strengthening economic supports, and intervening to lessen harms and prevent future risk.
Factors Associated with Severe Outcomes Among Immunocompromised Adults Hospitalized for COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 10 States, March 2020–February 2022
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
A new study published in MMWR found patients with weakened immune systems accounted for 1 in 8 of sampled adults hospitalized for COVID-19 in 10 U.S. states during March 2020 through February 2022. People with weakened immune systems need extra protection from COVID-19. Known multilayered prevention measures, including nonpharmaceutical interventions, up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination, and therapeutics, can prevent hospitalization and subsequent severe COVID-19 outcomes among immunocompromised persons. People with weakened immune systems are at increased risk for serious outcomes from COVID-19, including intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death. To assess the link between weakened immune systems and ICU admission and in-hospital death, investigators analyzed COVID-NET (COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network) data during March 2020–February 2022. Among a sample of 22,345 adults hospitalized for COVID-19, 1 in 8 had weakened immune systems. Among both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, those with weakened immune systems had higher odds of ICU admission and in-hospital death than those with healthy immune systems. Using multiple layers of known prevention strategies among people with weakened immune systems are critical to prevent COVID-19, especially when community levels of COVID-19 indicate increased transmission and disease severity.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.
