"Our country, and the world, is beyond exhausted by COVID-19 and the utter chaos and destruction of lives it has caused. All people, including physicians, are being pushed beyond capacity. What do we mean, collateral damage? Originally related to war: the unintended result of a terrible, unprecedented event or action. We may not be in a traditional war, but make no mistake, we are in a war.

We can and must do better for our mentally ill patients. They deserve it. Their families deserve it. As physicians, we took an oath to care for all people, not just those with a 'cool kid's disease.' It is time."

Ann L. Contrucci is a pediatrician.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Mental health care is the not so silent collateral damage of COVID-19." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/mental-health-care-is-the-not-so-silent-collateral-damage-of-covid-19.html)

Mental health care in children during COVID-19