People in nursing homes have been suffering in isolation during the coronavirus pandemic, with their institutions in constant lockdown to prevent potentially fatal outbreaks. Now that they’re some of the first in line to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, it would be natural for nursing home residents to expect that visits from friends and family will soon resume. That might not happen, though. Uneven vaccination rates and unknowns related to the vaccines could mean that folks in nursing homes will have to remain isolated for a while longer, experts said. “It’s going to be a while before there are enough people immunized to really start to see a reduction in risk,” said Dr. Chris Beyrer, a professor of public health and human rights with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore. “There’s going to be this challenging period where we won’t have enough vaccine and we won’t have enough people immunized.” There’s a reason for caution, and it’s the same reason why nursing home residents and workers gained a place in the first wave of vaccinations. People in long-term care facilities have accounted for 40% of all COVID-19 deaths in the United States, even though they represent only 6% of overall infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, nearly one in five nursing home residents who contract COVID-19…  read on >  read on >

If you’re having eye problems, you may not know which type of specialist to consult. Here’s some help from experts who explain the roles of an optometrist, ophthalmologist, pediatric ophthalmologist, orthoptist and optician. Optometrists provide comprehensive eye care, including evaluations for glasses and contact lenses and common eye diseases. “They play a role in monitoring chronic conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes,” Dr. Danielle Natale, an optometrist at the Krieger Eye Institute in Baltimore, said in an institute news release. They can also treat acute eye problems such as pink eye or sties. Ophthalmologists are physicians who have completed four years of medical school and four years of residency training. They diagnose and treat eye diseases and prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses, and they also perform eye surgery. A pediatric ophthalmologist is specially trained to examine and treat children of all ages and abilities — especially those who are unable or too young to read the letters on an eye chart. “To make the environment more child-friendly, ophthalmologists will often play games with the patients or show them movies during their exam,” said pediatric ophthalmologist Dr. Samantha Feldman, who also practices at the Krieger Eye Institute. Orthoptists aren’t common, with only about 400 in the United States. They aren’t doctors, according to the American Association of Certified Orthoptists. But orthoptists are uniquely…  read on >  read on >

Now that federal guidelines have expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to include people over 65 and those of all ages with underlying health conditions, drug stores say they are ready, willing and able to start giving the shots. There’s just one slight glitch: supply. But with two vaccines already available and others moving toward emergency use authorization, experts say supply will likely soon catch up with demand. As of Jan. 14, the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership Program has tapped two pharmacy chains per state to offer free COVID-19 vaccines. Pharmacies will be notified if they can take part in this initial rollout. Spearheaded by Operation Warp Speed, the government’s vaccine development program, this plan will ultimately allow more than 40,000 pharmacies across the nation to inject 100 million vaccines in a month’s time. Already signed on as partners are CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Costco, Walmart, Rite Aid, Publix and more. Fully 250 million people in the United States are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, and pharmacies can help speed the slower-than-expected vaccine distribution process, said Kathleen Jaeger, senior vice president of pharmacy care and patient advocacy at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), an Alexandria, Virginia-based trade group representing chain pharmacies. “With 40,000 drug stores and one vaccinator per store, it would be very easy to deliver 100 million vaccine doses in one month,”…  read on >  read on >

If you’re having eye problems, you may not know which type of specialist to consult. Here’s some help from experts who explain the roles of an optometrist, ophthalmologist, pediatric ophthalmologist, orthoptist and optician. Optometrists provide comprehensive eye care, including evaluations for glasses and contact lenses and common eye diseases. “They play a role in monitoring chronic conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes,” Dr. Danielle Natale, an optometrist at the Krieger Eye Institute in Baltimore, said in an institute news release. They can also treat acute eye problems such as pink eye or sties. Ophthalmologists are physicians who have completed four years of medical school and four years of residency training. They diagnose and treat eye diseases and prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses, and they also perform eye surgery. A pediatric ophthalmologist is specially trained to examine and treat children of all ages and abilities — especially those who are unable or too young to read the letters on an eye chart. “To make the environment more child-friendly, ophthalmologists will often play games with the patients or show them movies during their exam,” said pediatric ophthalmologist Dr. Samantha Feldman, who also practices at the Krieger Eye Institute. Orthoptists aren’t common, with only about 400 in the United States. They aren’t doctors, according to the American Association of Certified Orthoptists. But orthoptists are uniquely…  read on >  read on >

Now that federal guidelines have expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to include people over 65 and those of all ages with underlying health conditions, drug stores say they are ready, willing and able to start giving the shots. There’s just one slight glitch: supply. But with two vaccines already available and others moving toward emergency use authorization, experts say supply will likely soon catch up with demand. As of Jan. 14, the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership Program has tapped two pharmacy chains per state to offer free COVID-19 vaccines. Pharmacies will be notified if they can take part in this initial rollout. Spearheaded by Operation Warp Speed, the government’s vaccine development program, this plan will ultimately allow more than 40,000 pharmacies across the nation to inject 100 million vaccines in a month’s time. Already signed on as partners are CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Costco, Walmart, Rite Aid, Publix and more. Fully 250 million people in the United States are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, and pharmacies can help speed the slower-than-expected vaccine distribution process, said Kathleen Jaeger, senior vice president of pharmacy care and patient advocacy at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), an Alexandria, Virginia-based trade group representing chain pharmacies. “With 40,000 drug stores and one vaccinator per store, it would be very easy to deliver 100 million vaccine doses in one month,”…  read on >  read on >

If you’re having eye problems, you may not know which type of specialist to consult. Here’s some help from experts who explain the roles of an optometrist, ophthalmologist, pediatric ophthalmologist, orthoptist and optician. Optometrists provide comprehensive eye care, including evaluations for glasses and contact lenses and common eye diseases. “They play a role in monitoring chronic conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes,” Dr. Danielle Natale, an optometrist at the Krieger Eye Institute in Baltimore, said in an institute news release. They can also treat acute eye problems such as pink eye or sties. Ophthalmologists are physicians who have completed four years of medical school and four years of residency training. They diagnose and treat eye diseases and prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses, and they also perform eye surgery. A pediatric ophthalmologist is specially trained to examine and treat children of all ages and abilities — especially those who are unable or too young to read the letters on an eye chart. “To make the environment more child-friendly, ophthalmologists will often play games with the patients or show them movies during their exam,” said pediatric ophthalmologist Dr. Samantha Feldman, who also practices at the Krieger Eye Institute. Orthoptists aren’t common, with only about 400 in the United States. They aren’t doctors, according to the American Association of Certified Orthoptists. But orthoptists are uniquely…  read on >  read on >

When the coronavirus pandemic began, one U.S. children’s hospital saw an increase in trauma cases from recreational and outdoor activities, even as total ER visits dropped by 50%, researchers report. What happened? Their new study suggests that being in lockdown, with schools closed, may have prompted more kids to go outside and play — and potentially get injured doing so. At the same time, parents may have feared taking their children to the hospital unless it was a dire injury. Study author Dr. Zaid Haddadin, a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, and his colleagues looked at the number of emergency room visits for respiratory illnesses or trauma between March and May 2020. Over that time, a total of nearly 6,400 pediatric emergency room visits occurred in 2020, compared with more than 12,000 in 2019. Meanwhile, the number of respiratory care for kids visits dropped by 58% in 2020, the researchers found. “Community efforts to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 might have played a role in decreasing the spread of other respiratory viruses in children,” Haddadin explained. But at the same time, there was a significant increase in the number of trauma visits related to activities like all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motorcycles, which might have been related to school closings, Haddadin said. “Most schools were closed starting mid-March in our…  read on >  read on >