By Staff
Friday, May 7, 2021 12:27 AM
NEW YORK—Women’s influence in optical is undeniable and today, more women than ever before are playing vital roles at all levels of our industry. In retailing, wholesaling, product design, manufacturing, distribution and vision care and managed care, talented women are shaping the direction of the companies and organizations they work for, and, in many cases, lead. This is why
Vision Monday will once again be highlighting The Most Influential Women in Optical in our July issue, marking the 19th anniversary of our signature Special Report saluting women in the eyewear/eyecare industry.
By Staff
Friday, May 7, 2021 12:21 AM
DALLAS—
My Eyelab, a retail brand of
Now Optics, said it will expand in the Austin and Dallas markets of Texas with the help of a trio of new franchisees.
By Staff
Thursday, May 6, 2021 12:33 AM
NEW YORK—Even as the number of COVID-19 cases across the U.S. decline and the number of Americans who have completed the vaccination regimen rises, the eyecare segment continues to see challenges along the pathway toward a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels, according to the findings of Wave 22 of the Coronavirus ECP Survey conducted April 26-30, 2021, by
Jobson Research. Notably, 75 percent of the respondents to Wave 22 said they believe their practice currently has capacity to see more patients, with the average respondent indicating the practice could see 26 percent more patients.
Click to view a PDF of the full Wave 22 survey results.
By Staff
Thursday, May 6, 2021 12:30 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Vision Council hosted the organization’s second All-Member Virtual Meeting yesterday, Wednesday, May 5. The meeting brought together nearly 200 members of the vision care product and services community for an afternoon of engaging presentations from The Vision Council’s leadership and community leaders on timely topics.
By Staff
Thursday, May 6, 2021 12:21 AM
IRVINE, Calif.—
Ocutrx Technologies, an augmented/extended reality and surgical device maker, announced the issuance of its fifth patent by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The fifth patent covers a Macular Visual Field (MVF) test administered while the user is wearing the OcuLenz AMD AR/XR headset. The patented technology is primarily associated with the at-home monitoring of individuals with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). This new patent encompasses taking a visual field test while wearing Ocutrx’s low-vision AR headset, the Oculenz AMD.
By Staff
Thursday, May 6, 2021 12:18 AM
SAN RAMON, Calif.—To drive innovation in the industry through continuous contact lens research and development,
CooperVision is now accepting submissions for its 2021 Science and Technology Awards program. The long-standing program fosters partnerships between recipients and CooperVision scientists to explore new dimensions in vision care, with the goal of translating innovative ideas into practical solutions. “As a leading global manufacturer of contact lenses, CooperVision has brought to market many breakthrough products, but we never stop raising the bar and working for what comes next,” said Francis Erard, CooperVision’s vice president of research & development.
By Staff
Thursday, May 6, 2021 12:01 AM
Because the crisis was so long, consumer behavior shifted. [Consumers] turned to Amazon to deliver everything to their front door. As a result, we drained an enormous amount of capital out of our local economies and shifted it to Jeff Bezos and Seattle. For small businesses to recover, that shift has to come back in some part to small local businesses.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 4:59 PM
Gallup recently published a
poll showing that the share of people around the world willing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 in 2020. The data shows that willingness came to 68 percent—short of the 70 percent to 90 percent threshold experts believe is required to achieve herd immunity. There are significant differences between countries and Gallup found that majorities would actually refuse the vaccine in 20 countries, mainly across Eastern Europe and Africa.
In total, the research found that more than a billion peope were unwilling to get vaccinated in the first year of the pandemic.
Gabon had the highest levels of refusal in 2020 at 66 percent, followed by Cameroon and Jordan with 65 percent and 62 percent, respectively. Hungary, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia and Kazakhstan were also among the countries with the highest levels of unwillingness at 60 percent or higher. Click
here to read the full story from Statista.com.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 1:18 PM
As vaccines roll out across the U.S., many famous figures are rolling up their sleeves and smiling at the camera at the same time. Many hope that endorsements from trustworthy, popular figures will help encourage people from all walks of life to get vaccinated too, but,
according to The New York Times, that might not be the case. Head over to
The Times to learn more.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 12:33 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—
The Vision Council and
Reed Exhibitions, organizers of Vision Expo, announced that free registration for
Vision Expo East 2021, taking place June 2-5 in Orlando, Fla., will be extended indefinitely. The decision to extend the free registration deadline is based on what they describe as a "recent, notable spike in attendee registration. Mitch Barkley, vice president of trade shows and events at The Vision Council, co-owner of Vision Expo, said, “With just four weeks to go until Vision Expo East, we are expecting to have at least 5,000 attendees at the show."
By Staff
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—National optical sales continued their downward trajectory with minimal declines in all categories over the course of last week, April 26-May 2, according to the latest Jobson Practice Performance Tracker. Starting just over one month ago throughout the U.S., decreasing optical sales continued for the fifth consecutive week last week with declines of -1 index point across the board for all service/product categories being tracked. This coincided with only a few states reporting an increase of cases of COVID-19, according to the
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 12:24 AM
ATLANTA—
SECO International, headquartered here, has announced the recipients of its 2021 awards and has recognized these leaders in optometry for their significant contributions to the profession, according to an announcement this week.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 12:21 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Vision Council has announced that the online application for the Open Your Eyes Scholarship, intended to provide financial assistance and career guidance to high school seniors who show an interest in the eyecare and optical industry and are from underrepresented racial and ethnic communities, is now open.