Structural Sequelae of the COVID Pandemic: The Youth Mental Health Crisis

A year ago, 17-year-old "Alex" was brought into the emergency department after a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Neither his primary care doctor nor his psychologist were aware of his first attempt 6 months previously. Unfortunately, this attempt was successful. It occurred in front of his home, and in front of his mother who was just seconds too late to stop him. In the aftermath, we wondered why the medical system that he had access to could not intervene in time.