When 2 Epidemics Collide—COVID-19 and Myopia

Changes in behavior, particularly children spending less time outdoors, has led to an epidemic of myopia in many countries. Increased complications of high myopia are certain to follow. Public health measures to reduce myopia are being considered;most notably, spending time outdoors is being scheduled into children's school days in some Chinese cities. Concurrently, early measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, including physical distancing and stay-at-home (lockdown) restrictions, resulted in a dramatic decrease in how much time children spent outdoors. The interaction of the global epidemics of myopia and COVID-19 has provided avenues to learn more about the underlying mechanisms of each disease.