Browse articles from EyeWorld.org related to COVID-19. EyeWorld is the award-winning member publication of ASCRS. The magazine provides news and updates from the Society as well as clinical features in the areas of cataract, refractive, cornea, glaucoma, and practice management. It publishes quarterly with editorial direction from its medical editorial board and staff.
In December 2020, the FDA authorized two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use: the first developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and the second by Moderna. Both are mRNA vaccines, and both require two doses spaced several weeks apart. As of February 22, more than 75.2 million doses had been delivered, more than 64.1 million of which had been administered.
Cataract Editor Rosa Braga Mele, MD, shares personal thoughts on the pandemic a year later, including some positive practice adaptations that have occurred as a result.
In light of the pandemic’s push to limit exposure in various medical settings, some ophthalmologists have been considering immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) with renewed interest to help get through a backlog of cases efficiently and to ease patient anxiety about coming in for surgical procedures.
This may not be the year that COVID-19 “goes away” but rather the year that we use what’s been learned to dig in for the next phase of a longer fight than was ever expected. But even in this still hunkering-down year, practices have to continue to pursue their development plans.
Developing a 2021 medical marketing strategy that is designed to meet the needs of patients in the COVID-19 era requires a change of mindset. Place yourself in patients’ shoes, start identifying relatable 2021 experiences, and convert those into profitable marketing opportunities, as well as chances to improve patient care.
EyeWorld reached out to ASCRS members and members of the EyeWorld Editorial Board to ask how the pandemic has changed practices a year after the historic shutdown of elective medical procedures.
➤ Investigating adjuvant therapy to DSO for Fuchs ➤ FDA approves loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic gel ➤ Pilot study: Photobiomodulation improves BCVA in patients with dry AMD ➤ Positive interim data in trial for gene therapy for GA ➤ Four Phase 3 studies of faricimab show up to 4-month treatment intervals for DME and wet AMD
➤ 2021 ASCRS Annual Meeting update ➤ FDA approves new monofocal IOL ➤ First patient dosed in Phase 2 trial for investigational DED therapy ➤ Phase 2a trial initiated for add-on wet AMD therapy
➤ Topline results from Phase 3 studies for nAMD treatment ➤ Phase 2 trial of betamethasone treatment for cataract surgery pain and inflammation ➤ Fast Track designation given to therapy seeking to treat achromatopsia ➤ Topline data from Phase 1 trial of travoprost intracameral implant ➤ ASCRS Journal Club
➤ Success with first-in-human implant of new artificial cornea ➤ Launch of first longitudinal study for home OCT ➤ Enrollment complete for study evaluating treatment for Leber congenital amaurosis 10 ➤ Phase 1/2a trial for wet AMD treatment with suprachoroidal injection begins enrollment ➤ Fast Track designation issued for investigational dry AMD therapy