Glasses may protect

NEW YORK: People who wear glasses could be up to three times less likely to get coronavirus, according to a new study conducted in India.

The preliminary study suggests glasswearers may have the extra protection because they tend to touch their eyes less frequently than most people.

‘‘Touching and rubbing of the eyes with contaminated hands may be a significant route of infection’’ for Covid19, the authors wrote in a report published on medRxiv, a website that compiles medical studies before they are peerreviewed.

The new study found the risk of infection was two to three times lower among those who wear glasses for long periods of time, meaning at least eight hours a day, according to the report.

Indian researchers described the findings as ‘‘statistically significant’’.

The study was conducted in the northern district of Kanpur Dehat. It involved 304 patients ranging in age from 10 to 80 years old. All of them experienced coronavirus symptoms and about 60 were considered longtime glasseswearers, according to the report.

New medical guidance recommends women should avoid scheduling mammograms around the time they receive Covid19 vaccinations because the shots cause lymph nodes to swell, falsely mimicking a warning sign of breast cancer.

The guidance, from the Society of Breast Imaging in the United States, suggests women get mammograms before their first Covid19 vaccine shot or four to six weeks after their second dose.