WEARING glasses makes you up to three times less likely to catch Covid, a study has found.
Researchers found people with spectacles rub and touch their eyes less, which is a “significant route of infection”.
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People who wear glasses are less likely to catch Covid, a study has suggestedCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The analysis also found poor and uneducated people are more likely to get the virus – partly because they don’t wear glasses as much.
According to the report, published in India, people touch their faces 23 times an hour and their eyes three times an hour on average.
Lead researcher Amit Kumar Saxena wrote: “Transmission occurs by touching the face, nose, mouth and eyes.
“Touching one’s nose and mouth is significantly reduced when wearing a face mask properly. But wearing a face mask does not protect the eyes.
“Touching and rubbing of the eyes with contaminated hands may be a significant route of infection for the virus.
“The risk of Covid-19 was two to three times less in the spectacles-wearing population than the population not using spectacles.
“This might be due to less touching and rubbing of eyes while wearing spectacles.
“The protective role of spectacles was found statistically significant.“ The report noted that glasses do not protect the eyes as much as goggles but still provide some degree of protection.
It also found poorer and less educated people are more likely to catch Covid because they are less likely to wear face masks properly and “use spectacles less than educated persons”.
Other key factors in catching Covid include gender, with experts saying the virus appears to pose a particular threat to men.
It’s also older adults – aged 60 and upwards – who are more likely to get seriously ill from it – with the scientists discovering that those who died from Covid-19 had a median age of 65.8 years.
People who are obese or seriously overweight fall into the high risk category for coronavirus.
