An recommendation released by the US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy addressed the “youth mental health crisis” that has been caused by the pandemic of COVID-19.

Such an advisory from the nation’s top doctor is extremely rare, reserved for the most pressing public health issues that require an immediate response. The 56-page report on the mental health of U.S. teenagers by the surgeon general says it’s time to recognize and treat this epidemic.

In February and March of this year, the national average of weekly ER visits for suspected suicide attempts among minors nearly quadrupled compared to the same period in 2019. Mental health has deteriorated recently because of the pandemic’s high death toll, economic uncertainty, isolation from family and friends, and a pervasive sense of fear that has ushered in a new decade, according to the research.

‘It would be tragic if we defeated one public health catastrophe only to see another rise in its place,’ Murthy wrote in the study.

Mental health concerns in children and adolescents were exacerbated by the epidemic, but the surgeon general insists that COVID-19 did not cause them. As of 2019, one in three high school students expressed “persistent feelings of sadness and loneliness,” an increase of 40% from 2009 to 2019, according to the 2020 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study cited in the report.

Teens are bombarded with messages telling them they’re “not good-looking, popular, smart, or rich enough,” according to a survey from the Pew Research Center. Even at the price of user engagement, size and profit, the surgeon general advises social media businesses whose business models are geared to maximize user interaction time to prioritize the public’s health and well-being when developing products.

Another factor contributing to poor mental health among young people is society’s failure to act quickly enough to solve the various social issues — climate change, wealth disparity, racism and other forms of discrimination, gun violence, and the opioid epidemic.

Between March 2020 and now, St. Petersburg’s Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital has witnessed a 35% rise in referrals to mental health services compared to the preceding two-year period. Jennifer Katzenstein, director of psychology, neuropsychology, and social work, noted that suicide attempts and reported eating disorder symptoms among patients at the hospital increased in the same period.

An opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of mental health for young people is provided by this surgeon general’s advise, Katzenstein added.

“We must not allow our mental health to be overlooked during COVID-19,” she stated.

Education about how to recognize behavioral changes in students that indicate mental health needs, the expansion of evidence-based social and emotional learning programs and encouraging students and their families to enroll in health plans that cover behavioral health services are among the eight recommendations in the surgeon general’s report for educators and school districts.