There is a dearth of protective gear for medical frontliners in many parts of the world fighting the spread of the Covid-19. Even the richest countries in the world are having a hard time providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to their health workers as they push back the rising tide of Covid-19 cases that threaten to overwhelm their health care systems.

One of the needed PPE is eye protection. We have been appealing for eye protection from the airsoft community to donate their spare or extra inventory of protective eyewear that can help prevent droplets and splashes from getting into the eyes of those taking care of patients, preventing them from getting infected whilst they go about their work.

In the U.S., there is a newly launched campaign to provide hospitals lacking in protective eyewear last 29 March. According to Outside Magazine, the campaign, called “Goggles for Docs” campaign, it was conceived when a Dr. Mike Halperin, of the Jacobi Medical Center in New York City realizing that there will be a huge demand for protective eyewear from health workers, called up his relatives who own a ski resort in Colorado to send ski goggles to NYC.

His relative then called upon the skiing community which immediately responded. One of these is Jon Schaefer, an owner two ski resorts in Massachusetts who saw the need to make the an efficient distribution of the donated ski goggles. With other volunteers, they setup a Facebook page and organised information using Google Docs to spot hospitals that needed the donations, where to droo them off and other information so that volunteers can properly and speedily send the donations.

Photo source: Goggles for Docs

Now, Smith Optics, a recognised brand in ski goggles have joined Goggles for Docs, which boosts the capability of the organisation to gather more goggles using the company's logistical network as well as using its products. Smith Optics is also  a brand much used in the military, law enforcement, and airsoft industries for the their tactical eye pro such as the Elite Boogie Regulator and Wire Turbo Fan Goggles. Having a major eye protection manufacturer would lend even more credibility to the effort and may attract more eyewear manufactures to the campaign:

Smith Supports Goggles for Docs

In efforts to support local and national personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages across the US in the wake of COVID-19, Smith joins the Goggles for Docs movement to provide ski goggles to healthcare workers who currently have no eyewear protection while treating patients.

The Goggles for Docs program materialized in just a few days to support hospital need, and is based solely on volunteer support and product donation. Smith is currently sending new and used goggles to fulfill hospital requests, and will continue to promote the program, encouraging its community to volunteer and donate on the individual level.

Beginning this week, Goggles for Docs is hosting a virtual Après Ski Music Series of live-streamed sets by featured artists – including Stephen Kellogg and Pete Kilpatrick Band – where listeners can tune in and donate goggles or cash contributions that will directly purchase additional protective gear for medical staff.

For more information, to donate or volunteer, please visit www.GogglesForDocs.com.

The Goggles for Docs should be a good model for other countries. If you think that you can contribute to your hospitals by getting eye protection products for the frontliners, you can just tweak the model to have an effective campaign that in your own countries.

As we reiterate, please do work on getting more protective equipment to the frontlines such as eye pro, N95 masks, surgical masks, sterile gloves, and other forms of PPEs  that meet the standards of the medical facilities. We need to protect our health care workers since without them, no one or nothing will stand in the way of the virus’ onslaught. Let’s protect those who will protect us with whatever they need.