Progressive Myopia - another bane of the COVID 19 pandemic?

Human beings witnessed a global crisis in the form of the COVID19 pandemic, which affected both physical and mental well-being of individuals. The devastating nature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus shook the world and since the time the virus was recognized in late 2019 a dramatic upsurge in myopia, especially in young children, is one aspect that has slowly gained prominence (1). Children and adolescents were already at greater risk since modernization has affixed them firmly onto the digital devices to compete in their respective fields of interest. Holden, Long and respective teams reported a shift of the curve for myopia cases, and it has been estimated to affect approximately half of the population, making it around five billion people by 2050, out of which 9.8% are likely to have severe myopia (2,3). Severe myopic patients are again more prone to retinal detachment and it has been suggested that myopia with associated pathological conditions might lead to loss of vision (4). A study conducted by Enthoven and team showed an increase in the odds of myopia in 9-year-old children, showing an association between myopia and near work/computer use (5). Digital Eye Strain (DES) or computer vision syndrome is an emerging threat to the public health due to excessive use of gadgets as well as sustained near work or closer working distance from digital screens, as reported by Huang and colleagues (6).