The Post-COVID Myopia Surge in Indian Children: What East Delhi Parents Need to Know Right Now
In 2022, a study published in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology reported something that should have made headlines across every school in the country. Researchers from a tertiary eye centre in central India compared the rate of myopia progression in children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period. The findings were stark: mean annual myopia progression jumped from 0.25 dioptres before COVID to 0.90 dioptres during the pandemic. The proportion of children progressing at 1 dioptre or more per year increased from 10.5 per cent to 45.9 per cent.
To put that in plain terms: during the lockdown period, nearly half of myopic children in the study were progressing at a rate that, if sustained, would push them into high myopia territory within five to six years. The two independent risk factors identified were prior history of rapid progression, and outdoor sun exposure of less than one hour per day.
Here is what makes this particularly relevant for families in East Delhi and the wider NCR region in 2026: the habits that drove that surge did not simply end when schools reopened. Screen time normalised at elevated levels. Outdoor time did not fully recover. The children who experienced accelerated progression during the pandemic are now several years further into their school years, many of them still progressing, and many of their parents unaware that a pandemic-era shift in daily routine permanently changed their child's visual trajectory.
As the best eye specialist serving East Delhi families from our clinic in Vaishali, Ghaziabad, I want to give this community the specific information they need, not a generic article about screen time and children's eyes.
What Actually Happened to Children's Eyes During COVID: The India-Specific Data
The DESK (Digital Eye Strain Among Kids) study series, conducted at a tertiary eye care centre in India, tracked the impact of COVID-era digital device use on children's eyes. It found that digital device use increased from an average of 1.9 hours per day before the pandemic to 3.9 hours per day during it. This near-doubling of daily near work, combined with the elimination of outdoor school breaks and physical activity, created exactly the environmental conditions most strongly associated with accelerating myopia in children.
A separate study from Mumbai reviewing case records from 2017 onwards confirmed that myopia progression post-lockdown was significantly greater than pre-lockdown in the same cohort of children. This was not a temporary spike. The children who progressed rapidly during the lockdown years continued to show elevated progression rates in subsequent follow-up periods.
Urban children were disproportionately affected. Research from South India found myopia prevalence was 1.66 times higher in urban school children compared to rural children, even before the pandemic. The combination of urban lifestyle factors with pandemic-era screen time has compounded the risk for children growing up in cities like Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, and the surrounding NCR region.
Why the Problem Did Not End When Schools Reopened
This is the critical point that most parents in East Delhi are not aware of.
When physical schools reopened, many families assumed the screen time crisis had resolved. The reality is more complicated. Several structural changes from the pandemic period have persisted:
Hybrid and online homework platforms introduced during COVID remain in widespread use across schools in Delhi NCR, maintaining elevated evening screen time even when children attend school physically during the day.
Children who developed a habit of extended screen use during two years of online schooling did not simply revert to pre-pandemic patterns. Research on habit formation suggests that two years is more than sufficient to establish new behavioural baselines.
Outdoor activity time, which dropped sharply during lockdowns, has not fully recovered in urban children. Coaching institutes, competitive academic pressure, and security concerns about unsupervised outdoor play have all contributed to continued reduced outdoor time in Delhi NCR children.
Children whose myopia accelerated during the pandemic are now at higher prescriptions than they would otherwise be, making them statistically more likely to progress further and reach high myopia during their remaining growth years.
The post-COVID myopia window has not closed. For children currently between 8 and 14 years old whose myopia began or accelerated during the pandemic years, this is still an active and urgent clinical situation.
How to Know If Your Child Is in the High-Risk Group
Based on the Indian research data and my clinical experience serving families from East Delhi and across NCR at our myopia control clinic in Ghaziabad, the children at highest risk of rapid post-COVID myopia progression share the following profile:
Myopia that began between 2020 and 2022, during the pandemic period
Prescription that worsened by more than 0.5D in the year following lockdown compared to the year before
Currently aged 8 to 14, with several growth years remaining
Less than one hour of outdoor activity daily, either through habit or circumstance
More than three hours of recreational screen use daily outside of school requirements
One or both parents with myopia, particularly moderate or high myopia
If your child fits two or more of these descriptors and has not had a comprehensive eye examination with axial length measurement in the past year, that is the single most useful thing to act on after reading this.
What Axial Length Measurement Tells You That a Prescription Check Does Not
Most parents understand prescription changes. -1.50, -2.00, -2.75. The number goes up, and the glasses get stronger. What most parents do not know is that prescription changes as measured on a chart are not the most sensitive or clinically informative way to track myopia progression.
Axial length, the physical length of the eyeball, is the more direct measurement. It is the axial elongation of the eye that drives myopia, and it is the axial length that determines long-term risk of structural complications. A child whose prescription has not changed much but whose axial length is elongating is a child whose risk is increasing even when the chart numbers look stable.
At Samyak Eye Care Clinic, every child on a myopia management programme has their axial length measured at every follow-up. Treatment decisions, including whether to escalate from one treatment approach to combination therapy, are based on axial length data, not on prescription appearance alone. This is the clinical standard, and it is not universally available at all eye clinics in East Delhi or Ghaziabad.
What Can Be Done Now for Children Whose Myopia Surged During COVID
The honest answer is: a great deal, if managed appropriately. The post-COVID cohort is not a lost generation. They are children who need proper assessment and the right intervention matched to their current prescription, progression rate, and lifestyle.
Ortho-K lenses are worn overnight and provide clear daytime vision while slowing axial elongation by 40 to 60 per cent compared to standard spectacles. For children whose myopia accelerated significantly during COVID, this is often the strongest single intervention available.
For children who are not responding adequately to Ortho-K alone, combination therapy with low-dose atropine drops can produce additional meaningful reductions in axial elongation. The decision to use combination therapy is based on monitored axial length response, not on clinical intuition.
For children whose parents prefer a spectacle-based approach, DIMS and other myopia control lens designs are available and have good evidence for slowing progression in the 30 to 50 per cent range.
Alongside any optical intervention, structured outdoor time remains the most accessible and evidence-backed lifestyle recommendation. The Indian data is unambiguous: children with outdoor sun exposure under one hour daily are at significantly higher risk of rapid progression. For families in East Delhi where outdoor space may be limited, this requires intentional planning rather than hoping it will happen naturally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Did COVID-19 permanently affect children's eyesight in India?
A: COVID did not damage eyes directly, but the pandemic lifestyle, elevated screen time and reduced outdoor activity significantly accelerated myopia progression in Indian children. Indian clinical studies confirm the progression rate nearly quadrupled during the lockdown period. Children who experienced this acceleration carry that additional prescription permanently. However, intervention now can still meaningfully reduce how much further their myopia progresses.
Q: How much did screen time increase myopia in Indian children during the pandemic?
A: An Indian clinical study (DESK study 4, Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2022) found mean annual myopia progression increased from 0.25D to 0.90D during the pandemic period, a 3.6-fold increase. Nearly half of myopic children progressed at 1D or more per year during lockdown, compared to 10.5 per cent before. Reduced outdoor time was the strongest independent risk factor alongside prior rapid progression.
Q: My child's myopia worsened a lot between 2020 and 2022. What should I do now?
A: Start with a comprehensive assessment at a myopia control clinic in Ghaziabad that includes axial length measurement. This tells you the true progression status, not just the prescription. Based on the findings, a personalised management plan can be put in place. The earlier this starts, the more of the remaining growth years can be protected.
Q: Is there a specialist myopia clinic near East Delhi?
A: Samyak Eye Care Clinic in Vaishali, Ghaziabad is easily accessible from East Delhi and has been operating as the first dedicated myopia control clinic in North India since its establishment. We offer axial length monitoring, Ortho-K fitting, combination therapy assessment, and structured management plans for children across all stages of myopia. Visit our clinic to schedule an assessment.
September 2026: Still the Right Time to Act
The children most affected by the COVID myopia surge are now between 10 and 16 years old. For many of them, three to six years of active visual development remain. That is three to six years in which the right intervention can meaningfully change their adult prescription and the lifetime risks that come with it.
If your child's myopia worsened significantly between 2020 and 2022 and you have not yet had a specialist assessment, visit our clinic at Samyak Eye Care, Vaishali, Ghaziabad. We serve families from across East Delhi, Indirapuram, Kaushambi, Surya Nagar, and the wider NCR region. The assessment takes less than an hour. The information it provides is clinically significant for the rest of your child's life.
Get Your Child's Post-COVID Myopia Assessed Today
Dr. Shalini Jain | Samyak Eye Care Clinic | Vaishali, Ghaziabad
Call: 98999 60700
