Dear Members of the International Orthoptic Association (IOA),

You are invited to attend the 48th Annual General Meeting of the IOA. As with previous editions before COVID, this online version will also be accompanied by a symposium. The IOA symposium entitled Orthoptics in the Era of COVID-19 was previously presented in a different composition during the ISA congress in September 2022 in Cancun Mexico. We hope to see you all during the AGM with symposium on Saturday, January 28, 2023.

The impact of the COVID-19 virus is still being felt around the world. The immediate harm from a global disaster is the loss of life, but there are long-term effects that are more difficult to quantify and predict. The world is currently in the “post-peak” phase of the pandemic during which additional waves of infection may occur.  But unlike earlier pandemics, with post-peak phases lasting for months, the post-peak COVID phase has continued over years.  Orthoptic clinics around the world have changed in many ways as a result.  These changes include not only changes in practice, but in the type, severity, and incidence of eye disease and disorders.  This Symposium, originally given at the 2022 ISA Congress in Cancun, Mexico, will explore some of the predictable and unexpected consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.