Sustainability Gains Traction in Optical Industry

NEW YORK—Taking it seriously. That’s what’s seemed to be happening to the subject of sustainability in this year like no other, 2020. From individuals and families to companies and businesses large and small, a new awareness of climate change, economic challenges, social causes, human vulnerability and a growing priority toward health and wellness are all factors. Many felt this way before, but the pandemic and a one-of-a-kind year has created more concern among customers about corporate social responsibility. In other words, they are concerned about companies’ values and what they stand for and support.

As Daily Cases of the Virus Consistently Top 100,000 Per Day, Optical Sales Remain Flat, Jobson Tracker Says

NEW YORK—With 20 days in a row of more than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases per day throughout the U.S., according to The COVID Tracking Project, optical sales nationwide remained flat over the past week. For the week of Nov. 16-22, only two categories—gross revenue and lens pairs—showed an uptick of 1 index point, according to the Jobson COVID-19 Practice Performance Tracker. Regionally, optical sales were either flat or changed by only 1 index point up or down.

VM and 20/20 Magazine Announce EyeVote Readers’ Choice Awards for 2020

NEW YORK—Vision Monday and 20/20 Magazine are pleased to announce the selections in the 12th annual EyeVote Readers’ Choice Awards, a special survey aimed at identifying readers’ favorite products and companies of the year. Optical retailers and ECP readers of the two Jobson Medical Information publications were asked to identify their “favorite” products in 19 distinct categories.

Premier Academy360 Offers Specialized Badges on VSP’s Find a Doctor Directory

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—In time for Diabetes Awareness Month this month, VSP Global is deploying a new program for doctors as part of an ongoing commitment to support and reinvest in private practice optometrists. Doctors and staff who complete Premier Academy360 education courses, such as those offered in the Diabetes Education Track, can now attain and display the badges they earn on the VSP Find a Doctor Directory, which receives over three-million-member visits per month. The badging program is intended to highlight the unique strengths and abilities of practices to enhance the patient experience, the company said.

Eversight-Led Research Confirms Presence of SARS-Cov-2 in Postmortem Ocular Tissue

CLEVELAND—Eversight, a non-profit organization that facilitates the donation of eye tissue for transplantation, announced research findings showing a small but noteworthy prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in ocular tissues from individuals who died from COVID-19. The findings were presented Nov. 7 at the 2020 Cornea and Eye Banking Forum and Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in human post-mortem ocular tissuesand published in The Ocular Surface.