INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Indiana contact lens wearers, and others around the country, are encouraged to practice the best possible hygiene habits in order to avoid bacteria that can blind a person.

That's the message from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during this "Contact Lens Health Week."

Dr. Jennifer Cope, medical epidemiologist with the CDC, authored a report in which 99 percent of wearers reported at least one contact lens hygiene risk behavior, such as sleeping in them, or exposing the lens to water.

"That allows bacteria, all kinds of microorganisms, to come into contact with your contact lens," says Cope. "Then that lens goes on your eye and that's how the microorganisms can find their way into your eye and cause an infection."

Cope says common risk behaviors are storing or rinsing lenses in tap water, and showering or swimming while wearing lenses.

South Bend eye doctor Linnea Robbins-Winters says the healthiest option is single-use lenses. She cautions, too many people with two-week or one-month contact lenses are stretching them past the expiration date.

"What happens is there's oils and proteins in your tear film that adheres to the lens and that decreases the amount of oxygen that can permeate to that lens and that increases the risk of infection," she says.

An estimated 40 million adults in the U.S. wear contact lenses, but Cope says educating young people is a central focus this week.

"We do think these are behaviors younger people might be doing more often," says Cope. "So we have targeted some of our health promotion materials to younger age groups."

Cope adds each year in the U.S., there are nearly a million health care visits for contact lens complications and keratitis, which is the inflammation of the cornea at a cost of $175 million.


get more stories like this via email

CONCORD, N.H. - New Hampshire advocates for affordable healthcare access want Congress to lower prescription costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies.

Drug prices have risen faster than any other facet of medicine, and Laura Lynch - a 62-year-old New Hampshire resident who's covered by Medicare and Social Security Disability Insurance - said she spends $300 to $350 a month just on co-pays for medications for herself and her husband.

They're also receiving collection notices, because Lynch said they can't afford the ambulance bills from a heart attack her husband had in February.

"This is ridiculously hard," said Lynch. "Sometimes I just want to cry, because I don't know where it's going to come from, the next penny or dollar to pay these bills. I am so for 'Medicare for All.' But I'm also so for them fixing Medicare, so that situations like this don't come up and we lose everything."

President Joe Biden's budget plan includes improvements to Medicare, such as allowing negotiations with drug companies. Lynch adds for her and many others, it's urgent that Congress take action.

Today is the 56th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, which together provide health coverage to more than 120 million people.

Zandra Rice Hawkins, executive director of the group Granite State Progress, said drug companies have a monopoly to set their own prices. She noted other government programs already negotiate with drug companies, and sometimes pay half of what Medicare pays for medicines.

She said allowing Medicare to negotiate would make prescriptions much for affordable for all consumers.

"Lawmakers have not taken meaningful action over the last decade to rein in drug corporations power to price gouge," she said, "despite strong support for policies like Medicare negotiations among all voters of all political persuasions."

The White House plan also would close the Medicaid coverage gap - New Hampshire has expanded its Medicaid program, but in the dozen states that have not, more than two million people don't fit the eligibility requirements, but also can't afford employer-based or marketplace health insurance.

LANSING, Mich. -- Advocates for home- and community-based services in Michigan urged Congress to build off state efforts and invest in what's become known as the "care economy."

President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan includes $400 billion to expand access to Medicaid home- and community-based services for seniors and people with disabilities, and to strengthen the care workforce.

Kelly Garrett, Michigan state director for Care in Action, said making investments will help keep people in their homes and communities for longer than they would be otherwise.

"We need to pay our essential workers, our domestic workers, our care workers a livable wage," Garrett asserted. "Also, people that need care should be able to get cared for in place in their homes, or wherever they choose to be cared for."

Michigan's paid medical-leave law went into effect in 2019, and applies to any employer with more than 50 workers, but domestic workers often do not fit the criteria.

Garrett joined a roundtable with people who rely on home-based and community services, caregiver advocates and lawmakers. She argued more progress is needed, and the White House plan would support well-paying caregiver jobs with benefits and collective bargaining rights.

Women, and especially Black, brown and Indigenous women, are more likely to leave the workforce to care for a family member, which became all the more evident during the pandemic.

Garrett added care infrastructure, such as home and community-based services as well as child care and paid family and medical leave, are so important because everyone needs care at some point in their lives.

"Everyone's gonna have this situation," Garrett explained. "Either you're going to be the caregiver, or you're going to need to be cared for. It just happens. And so passing this bill allows people to age with dignity, and to be taken care of with dignity."

Home- and community-based services can look different for different people, ranging from meal services and transportation to doctors' appointments, or having a personal aide come in to help get ready for the day and manage their medicines, or speech or occupational therapy at home or at a community facility.

Garrett urged Michiganders to contact their lawmakers and let them know how urgently needed the legislation is.

MINNEAPOLIS - As COVID cases trend upward again, public-health experts are setting the record straight on certain storylines about new infections.

Minnesota's seven-day average for new COVID cases had dipped below 100 earlier this summer. Now, it's nearing 300. Health officials blame the combination of the Delta variant spreading and a slower rate of vaccinations.

For some who elected to get the shots, there are instances of infections. But David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the vaccines still work; there are just some key things to remember.

"They give your immune system a jump-start on the virus, but every now and then, that jump-start is not quite enough to prevent an infection," he said. "Almost always, it's going to be enough to prevent you from getting really, really sick."

He said no vaccine is perfect. However, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that fewer than 1% of COVID deaths and hospitalizations have been tied to fully vaccinated individuals. Despite the rarity of breakthrough cases, Dowdy said it's important to be cautious in public settings to prevent major spikes again, noting the risk for vulnerable populations, such as older adults, even if they've been vaccinated.

As for vaccination rates, groups such as AARP have raised concerns about benchmarks for staff members at places such as nursing homes.

Dowdy said there are many reasons some people are hesitant to get a shot, including in communities overlooked by public-health offices. However, he suggested that it's reasonable to take a closer look at places such as assisted-living facilities.

"That does change the calculus a little bit," he said. "You're not just thinking about yourself now; you're thinking about the people that you're having to come in contact with on a daily basis."

In its latest nursing home COVID-19 dashboard, AARP said just 17% of Minnesota nursing homes have met an industry target of having at least 75% of staff fully vaccinated. Overall, 88% of the state's nursing-home residents have completed the immunization cycle, compared with 62% of all staff.