The coronavirus pandemic reportedly has Americans stocking up on guns and ammo

It's not just toilet paper and hand sanitizer that people are stocking up on as the COVID-19 coronavirus forces America into social distancing. Gun sellers are also reporting a large surge in firearm and ammunition purchases, CNN Business reports.

Different areas are showing preferences for different types of guns, but dealers and analysts see a common motive behind the purchases: Fear of the coronavirus. "The world has never seen anything like this and people want to make sure they're prepared for whatever lies ahead, whether that be food shortages, government shutdown, or worse," a spokesperson for Ammo.com told CNN Business. Gun industry analyst Rob Southwick agreed: "Whenever there's a period of uncertainty — 9/11, the stock market crash of '87 — firearm sales go up."

According to Ammo.com, sales spikes are especially notable in states and regions with the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, but the state with the largest per capita purchases is Texas. The Lone Star State has only 161 confirmed cases so far, but Gov. Greg Abbott (R) predicted tens of thousands of infections within two weeks. His administration also declared the state's first public health disaster since 1901, Abbott said. All of this has Texas' large anti-vaccine community feeling very edgy, Texas Monthly reports.

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"If they fast-track some vaccine for coronavirus, how are all of us going to defend ourselves?" a woman named Sarah asked her Tarrant County Crunchy Mamas Facebook group. "I'll let them vaccinate my daughter over my dead body." One member suggested, "Hide in the floors like they hid the Jews from the Nazis," while another advised: "Hide them in our gun safe (yes, it's a big safe and yes, we love our guns)." There won't be a coronavirus vaccine for at least 18 months, and at that point "the issue is more going to be trying to prioritize who gets to get the vaccine once it's available because there won't be enough initially to cover everyone," predicts Allison Winnike, president and CEO of Texas-based Immunization Partnership.