Re your Oct. 17 story “Catholic schools pivot toward mental health in wake of pandemic”:
First, it is good that professionals are addressing the mental health issues of young students arising from the impact of COVID-19.
However, the thing that irked me is this quote: “but COVID made us afraid of being together. The isolation caused by COVID struck at the root of who we are as people.”
COVID is a virus. It has no power over us. It did not “cause” the isolation.
What caused the breakdown in the mental health of children was the reaction to COVID.
It has been well documented that children do not die (unless they have severe co-morbidities) from COVID. They do not get hospitalized.
Yet they were forced to wear masks, get “vaccinated,” stay at home, and get schooled online for months on end, stay six feet apart from their peers, and so on.
COVID is a virus; it did not do the above. The school boards, government, teachers , and medical profession did that.
We now know that the vaccination does not stop transmission.
We should not step over the reaction to this virus and examine whether it was worthwhile.
As I said at the beginning, it is good you are offering help to young people for their mental health issues. However, if we do not learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them!
If a “new wave” hits and you follow the same protocols, it is certain that you will exacerbate the mental health of our young people.
Mark Holland
Vancouver
