RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO, June 03, 2020—With myopia projected to impact 50 percent of the world’s population by 2050, CooperVision Canada has partnered with Canadian Health & Family to promote awareness of childhood myopia through an educational segment available to stream online at www.healthandfamily.ca/MyopiaEpidemic.
The segment—which originally aired on television networks CTV and HGTV, and again last month on CTV Toronto and CTV Montreal—features Debbie Jones, BSc, FCOptom, FAAO, clinical professor at the University of Waterloo and clinical scientist at the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE). Dr. Jones has been studying the effectiveness of the FDA-approved CooperVision MiSight® 1 day lens* which has been shown to slow the progression of myopia in children by 59%. ** She was also involved in a study that examined myopia prevalence locally in Waterloo, Ontario and the surrounding area that revealed that 35 percent of study participants were living with uncorrected myopia .
“At CooperVision, our goal is to elevate the standard of care such that no case of paediatric myopia goes untreated,” said Alexandra Donkin, General Manager for CooperVision Canada. “Our partnership with Canadian Health & Family on this educational segment is one part of our work to get there. Parents, pediatricians, teachers and everyone in the life of a child need to be aware of the myopia epidemic and its impact. Only through awareness of the issue can a resolution towards slowing the progression be achieved.”
The segment also features the story of a young MiSight® 1 day clinical study participant, who shared how the freedom offered by contact lenses is a benefit for her active lifestyle, and a word from Joshua C. Smith, OD, past president of the Ontario Association of Optometrists, who emphasized the impact that time spent outdoors can have on reducing a child’s risk for developing myopia.
At the end of the segment, Consumers are directed to visit www.FightMyopia.ca for more information. This website was created by CooperVision Canada to educate consumers on myopia and to help them find a nearby MiSight® 1 day certified eye care professional.
In addition to the television broadcast and online streaming, CooperVision has planned a digital advertising campaign featuring the segment, which will run in targeted markets through October. For more information on MiSight® 1 day contact lenses, visit coopervision.ca.
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*U.S. Indications for Use: MiSight® 1 Day (omafilcon A) Soft (Hydrophilic) Contact Lenses for daily wear are indicated for the correction of myopic ametropia and for slowing the progression of myopia in children with non-diseased eyes, who at the initiation of treatment are 8-12 years of age and have a refraction of -0.75 to -4.00 diopters (spherical equivalent) with ≤ 0.75 diopters of astigmatism. The lens is to be discarded after each removal.
** Compared to a single vision 1 day lens over a 3 year period.
[1] Holden et al. Global Prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology 2016, 123(5):1036-1042.
[2] CooperVision data on file 2019. Chamberlain P, Logan N, Jones D, Gonzalez-Meijome J, Saw S-M, Young G. Clinical evaluation of a dual-focus myopia control 1 day soft contact lens: 3-year results (2016 American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting) and 5-year results (2019 BCLA Clinical Conference & Exhibition).
[3] Yang et al. Myopia prevalence in Canadian school children: a pilot study. Eye 2018, 32:1042–1047.
About CooperVision
CooperVision, a division of CooperCompanies (NYSE:COO), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses. The Company produces a full array of daily disposable, two-week and monthly contact lenses, all featuring advanced materials and optics. CooperVision has a strong heritage of solving the toughest vision challenges such as astigmatism, presbyopia and childhood myopia; and offers the most complete collection of spherical, toric and multifocal products available. Through a combination of innovative products and focused practitioner support, the company brings a refreshing perspective to the marketplace, creating real advantages for customers and wearers. For more information, visit www.coopervision.com.
About CooperCompanies
CooperCompanies ("Cooper") is a global medical device company publicly traded on the NYSE (NYSE:COO). Cooper operates through two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision brings a refreshing perspective on vision care with a commitment to developing a wide range of high-quality products for contact lens wearers and providing focused practitioner support. CooperSurgical is committed to advancing the health of women, babies and families with its diversified portfolio of products and services focusing on medical devices and fertility & genomics. Headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., Cooper has a workforce of more than 12,000 with products sold in over 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.coopercos.com.