COVID update: Eyeglass wearers less likely to contract coronavirus, study finds

NEW YORK (WABC) – Wearing glasses can give you an extra layer of protection against COVID.

A new study in India has found that people who wear glasses are three times less likely to contract the virus.

Researchers suggest that’s because they’re less likely to touch their eyes – which can be a major route of infection.

A previous study in China found that only 5% of people hospitalized for COVID wore glasses, while about 30% of the population wears glasses.

The study was conducted last summer in the northern district of Kanpur Dehat. It concerned 304 patients aged 10 to 80 years.

According to the report, all of them had symptoms of coronavirus and around 60 were considered long-time glass carriers.

The study’s authors noted that COVID-19 infection through the eyes “is extremely rare,” but said droplets of the virus can easily pass from the eyes to the nose or mouth.

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