According to Robert Redfield, the Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides and overdoses are killing more youth in the US than COVID. And what is equally disturbing is that the death rates from these causes are increasing.

Redfield made the statement in an interview with the Buck Institute for Research.

Christian Post reports on Redfield’s statements:

“We’re seeing, sadly, far greater suicides now than we are deaths from COVID,” Redfield explained. “We’re seeing far greater deaths from drug overdose that are above the excess that we had as background than we are seeing the deaths from COVID.”

A June survey from The Addiction Policy Forum reported a 20% increase in substance abuse with 34% of respondents experiencing a change in their treatment and recovery due to the pandemic. 

Redfield went on to say that these increases are due to the stress associated with the COVID-19. However, the youth are the least vulnerable to COVID-19. In his interview, Redfield noted that of the 218,000 COVID cases CDC surveyed between February and July only 52 of them were under the age of 18.

It is the fallout from the lockdowns and social isolation that is the much bigger problem for youth.

And Redfield did hint at this stating:

In his July 14 interview, Redfield emphasized the absence of schools for the increase in suicides, overdoses and general mental health difficulties faced by young people during the pandemic. […]

Redfield said that the “cost to our nation in continuing to keep these schools closed is substantial.” 

READ: More youth are dying of suicide, overdose than COVID-19 during pandemic: CDC director AND a transcript of the Redfield interview READ: COVID Webinar Series (TRANSCRIPT): Robert Redfield, MD

Australia mental health experts warned in early May that suicides due to the lockdown’s social isolation and resulting job loses will kill more people than the virus itself. They added that the negative fallout from the lockdown will continue for years after the COVID pandemic has ended. READ: Report: Suicide rise from lockdowns to kill more than coronavirus in Australia

Doctors in California were stating back in May they were seeing more deaths from suicides than COVID. These were not just youth. READ: California doctors say they’ve seen more deaths from suicide than coronavirus since lockdowns

One suicide hotline in California reported an 8,000% month over month increase in calls earlier this year. READ: Suicide, help hotline calls soar in Southern California over coronavirus anxieties