COVID-19 vaccinations? Focus on great service and outcomes
By James D. Dawes, MHA, COE, CMPE
In July, the American Academy of Ophthalmology along with 34 other organizations signed a Joint Statement advocating “that all health-care and long-term care employers require their workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.” While it is still in its early days, there appear to be relatively few facilities making significant progress with the implementation of the requirement.
Today, according to WebMD and Medscape Medical News analysis of data collected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services among the nation’s largest 50 hospitals, one out of three health-care workers remain unvaccinated. And across the general population, about 56% of the adult U.S. population was fully vaccinated by early October.
The topic of COVID-19 vaccinations has proven to be one of the most polarizing in our country. Recently, we have witnessed physical altercations over vaccinations at public venues, including school board meetings and drive-up vaccination sites.
As ophthalmic professionals, what do we do? Vaccine or no vaccine? At the end of the day, that is a personal decision. Despite the best efforts of many organizations, COVID-19 vaccination mandates are proving challenging to enforce, particularly in times of record setting-staff shortages.
As team members, I think we must agree to disagree on the issue of vaccinations and take care of our patients as best we can. During this process, we must respect each other’s personal freedom and right to free speech. Those are the foundations of our country. Yet, these become even more contentious when our patients become antagonistic and sometimes personally confrontational.
Let’s focus on what we can agree upon, like great patient service and great clinical outcomes. COVID-19 has changed many things about how we practice medicine and conduct business, some good and some not so good. However, we are in the business of helping patients enjoy an improved quality of life, so let’s focus on continuing that mission and remember that our team member standing beside us — vaccinated or unvaccinated — is working toward that same goal. OP
In Brief
The FDA approved Oyster Point Pharma’s Tyrvaya (varenicline solution) Nasal Spray 0.03 mg for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. Tyrvaya Nasal Spray is the first and only nasal spray approved for the treatment of dry eye disease.
The FDA approved iCare USA’s EIDON Ultra-Widefield Lens module, which enables the capture of 120˚ images of the retina in a single shot or up to 200˚ with its expanded “Mosaic” function. The module can be retrofitted to most of the EIDON fundus imaging systems, enabling the acquisition of Ultra-Widefield infrared, autofluorescence and fluorescein angiography images with an up to 200˚ panoramic view.
The FDA accepted Novartis’ supplemental Biologics License Application for Beovu (brolucizumab) 6 mg for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). If approved, DME would be the second indication for Beovu (wet age-related macular degeneration).
Ocular Therapeutix received FDA approval for a supplemental new drug application for Dextenza, which adds an additional indication for the treatment of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis. With the approval, Dextenza is the first, FDA-approved, physician-administered intracanalicular insert capable of delivering a preservative-free drug for the treatment of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis with a single administration for up to 30 days.
Notal Vision reported results from its first US-based feasibility study with its investigational home-based optical coherence tomography (OCT) platform. The study evaluated the ability of subjects with wet AMD to perform sequential daily self-imaging of their eyes for 3 months with the teleconnected Notal Home OCT device. The feasibility study showed the device’s ease of use, image quality, compliant self-imaging and spatio-temporal tracking of retinal fluid in an elderly wet AMD patient population.
Alimera Sciences shared data demonstrating significant reductions in treatment burden in patients receiving Iluvien for DME. The data from the Phase 4 PALADIN study show that patients receiving one or fewer total injections per year for their DME after the Iluvien injection increased three-fold from prior to the Iluvien injection.
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