Biden’s Surgeon General: Youth Facing Pandemic Mental Health Issues

The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Tuesday issued a public health advisory on the mental health issues he said youth are facing from the harsh lockdowns and other protocols put in place during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It would be a tragedy if we beat back one public health crisis only to allow another to grow in its place,” Murthy said in a preface written for the advisory. “Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real, and they are widespread. But most importantly, they are treatable, and often preventable.”

“Advisories are reserved for significant public health challenges that need the nation’s immediate awareness and action,” the document said

Murthy issued the advisory the day after he visited King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science in the Willowbrook area of South Los Angeles where students said they have struggled during the pandemic.

“A lot of people still feel like, everything is virtual, like, they act as if we can’t see or hear what they say,” Jesus El, a senior at the school said in a Los Angeles Times report. “A lot of students have been less motivated to come to school, you know, miss school more. I’m noticing a lot more students start to leave class and take long bathroom breaks.” – READ MORE