Dr. Mark Breazzano discusses pandemic-related patient hesitancy and how retina specialists can help.
Mark Breazzano, MD: I think it's easy to fall in the trap that, hey, you know, we're just treating the back of the eye. But really, we are doctors too. And we should be taking that extra second or two—especially if you find out that a patient's not vaccinated and they're worried—just talking to them a little bit and say, “Hey, you know, it really, you know, it's really a big help not only to yourself, to keep you protected, but to keep others around you protected, too.”
And it's really a group effort; it's really a team approach, you know, and I think little interactions like that really just go a long way. And especially in our field, we are a high-risk field. I mean, that's, that's really the truth of it.
I think the more we're learning from this pandemic is going to help us in the future, you know, God forbid, we get future pandemics with other related viruses as well. I think we're learning a lot of lessons from this. From you know, managerial standpoint, clinical standpoint, social standpoint, I think it's all interrelated.
Related: Research suggests link between long COVID-19 and corneal nerve damage
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected daily practice for retina specialists? (video)
First signs of COVID-19 seen in the retina, investigators report
2 Commerce Drive
Cranbury, NJ 08512