World Sight Day Festivities Raise Dollars, Commitments to Eye Tests and Advocacy for Raising Awareness for Eyecare Access as UN Diplomats Mark World Sight Day

NEW YORK—In events and communications that spanned the world, World Sight Day 2021, yesterday, Oct, 14, enabled many eyecare professionals, companies, NGOs and volunteer organizations to contribute to a crescendo of messaging about the importance of preserving sight with annual sight tests and advancing the need to provide access to more than one billion people around the world suffering from preventable vision loss. Yesterday, to mark the day, key United Nations (UN) diplomats joined together with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and Global World Sight Day partner OneSight, for a special sight screening.

On World Sight Day, Millions Take #LoveYourEyes Pledge, EssilorLuxottica Launches PutVisionFirst Website, CooperVision Highlights Myopia and J&J Shares 2nd Global Eye Health Survey

NEW YORK—The 21st anniversary of World Sight Day has arrived and today, Oct. 14, millions around the world have pledged to support the global #LoveYourEyes campaign designed to build awareness for the need for eyecare and access to adequate eyewear for more than one billion people. As of VMAIL's deadline, the International Agency to Prevent Blindness (IAPB) reported that more than three million people have committed to get sight tests for World Sight Day as the global pandemic takes a toll on global vision. Eye tests have been carried out at landmarks around the world including Mount Everest, Gateway to India, Santa Barbara beach, Tower Bridge, and more to raise awareness.

National Average for Gross Revenue at ECP Locations Decreased for Week of Oct. 4-10, Jobson’s Latest Practice Performance Tracker Shows

NEW YORK—The national average for gross revenue at ECP locations decreased last week, Oct. 4-10, at a rate of -1 index point. That leaves gross revenue 5 index points above where it was at this point in time (Week 41) during 2019 and 6 index points below where it was during Week 41 of last year, according to Jobson’s most recent Practice Performance Tracker. U.S. optical sales were either flat or down slightly last week at rates ranging from 0 to -3 index points.

CooperVision Launches New Myopia Education Campaign for U.S. Parents

SAN RAMON, Calif.—CooperVision, a leader in myopia management, announced a new U.S. education initiative called “Take Control: Myopia & You” to increase awareness of the disease and encourage parents to schedule eye exams for their young children. Childhood myopia has been increasing in prevalence and severity in recent decades, a trend that may have been exacerbated by increased time spent on screens and other “near work” indoors during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to the company’s announcement Tuesday.

Wide-Ranging VM Summit Programs Tackle Consumer Trust, Remote Patient Monitoring, Fresh Retail Concepts and the Metaverse

NEW YORK—There's still time to register for the next virtual Vision Monday Leadership Summit sessions, the latest in the 2021 series, which will take place on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27. These two dynamic sessions will bring together a range of speakers from outside the industry and within the eyecare and optical retail space who will examine how the global pandemic has rewritten the fundamental rules of customer/patient engagement for both retailers and healthcare providers. The upcoming sessions, themed "Retail and Healthcare: UPENDED! Ripping Up the Rulebook," will be broadcast initially from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST on those dates via a unique VM Summit virtual platform.