NEW YORK (AP) — New research says more than 4 in 10 U.S. high school students said they felt persistently sad or hopeless during the pandemic. The findings support earlier warnings that pandemic isolation from school closures and lack of social gatherings has taken a toll on young people’s mental health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the reports Thursday. They’re based on anonymous online surveys of about 7,700 public and private high school students from 128 schools during the first six months of 2021. It is based on a similar survey the CDC conducts every other year in schools.
Photo: Yzabella Padagas, center right, wipes away tears as she recounts her father’s bout with COVID-19 and how mentally and emotionally draining it was for her family, during a roundtable discussion about the COVID-19 vaccine at Lehman High School, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in New York. Her father did survive the virus. “I don’t want anyone else to experience something like that,” she said. “I want everyone to get vaccinated. We can put an end to this pandemic altogether.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging everyone in K-12 schools to wear a mask when they return to class, regardless of vaccination status. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
