Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky in an exclusive addressed gun violence in America, calling it “a serious public health threat.”

Walensky stated, “Something must be done about that.” “Now is the right time, it’s pedal-to-the-metal time.”

Walensky spoke out about how her agency plans to address gun violence which has become a growing concern.

The Gun Violence Archive reports that 611 people were killed in mass shootings in 2020. The group defines mass shootings at four or more people shot or killed in a single incident, not including the shooter.

President Biden in April signed a series of executive orders in April aimed at addressing gun violence, saying at the time that gun violence in the U.S. was a “national embarrassment.”

The nation has seen several mass shootings this year: one at Boulder’s grocery store, where at least 10 people were killed; three shootings at Atlanta-area spas which left eight people dead; and an attack at San Jose’s rail yard that killed eight.

Its reported that the CDC had stopped conducting gun violence research after Congress cut funding in 1997 due to pressure from NRA. In 2018, former President Trump signed a bill that allowed the agency gun violence research.

According to the news outlet, Congress has approved $25 million for research on gun violence from the CDC and National Institutes of Health.

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Walensky stated that her job was to “understand the scope of the problem” so she can make improvements. Walensky stated that she doesn’t want anyone to believe that she wants “to take away their guns”, but that she does not intend to do that.

Let’s all agree that we don’t want anyone to die. Let’s agree. Walensky asked, “What can we do for people to die and how can we prevent people being hurt?”