Dr. Gale R. Burstein Commissioner of Health Erie County Department of Health 95 Franklin Street Buffalo, NY 14202 Dr. Burstein, As the Commissioner of Health, your job is to “promote and protect the health, safety, and well-being of Erie County residents through active prevention, education, enforcement, advocacy and partnerships.” This includes protecting the well-being of our youngest citizens, too. Public health, as it relates to children, is not simply the absence of disease or infirmity, it is the state of physical, mental, intellectual, social, and emotional well-being that affords children the opportunity to reach their fullest developmental potential. Covid-19 represents just one of many potential health problems. Unfortunately, the severity of the pandemic has taken the attention away from other serious health issues, particularly for younger people. While Covid-19 represents a meaningful health risk for older people, the reality is that for the vast majority of children, the loss of full in-person schooling represents a much greater health issue than Covid-19. Gone unnoticed is the fact that remote/hybrid “learning” is having a devastating impact on the physical, social, and emotional health of children of all ages. Isolation, depression, and malnutrition have reached crisis levels during the pandemic. The academic toll will take years to overcome for those students that do not drop out of school altogether. Yet, there are few statistics to measure the very real damage being done to our younger generations. Pediatricians across the country have been trying to sound the alarm on the negative health consequences related to the loss of in-person schooling, but our public health officials, even those with a background in pediatric medicine, seem more concerned about public perception than the actual well-being of our children. After all, it is easier to track the tragic effects of Covid-19 than the collateral damage being done to our children. On this shipwreck, everyone receives a lifeboat except for the kids. Sadly, political science appears to be trumping actual science. ... ![]()
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May 2022
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