(Everyone ages 5 and older is eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccination, which the CDC says is safe and effective at preventing severe illness.).

Smith Says Breakthrough COVID-19 Hit Him 'Differently': 'I'm Still Not 100%'.

"It was killing my own mental health," the 26-year-old woman says of her time at a North Carolina middle school and a high school.

"It feels like every time you think it's going to get better, it doesn't.".

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"It feels like a marathon, but nobody knows where the finish line is.".

Lauren, whose daughter ended up only having a cold instead of COVID, also sees the pandemic as a long slog made worse by constant questioning of decisions like when to mask, vaccinate, isolate or allow participation activities.

"No matter what decision I make, I feel like it would be the wrong one," she says.

"I feel like I'm being judged.".

Parents should also work to maintain their own social support system by hanging out with family and friends in safe ways, like taking walks together or chatting on FaceTime, he says

"Think, 'We just have to get through the winter,'" he says