Higher risk of facial paralysis after Sinovac’s covid-19 vaccine

Bell's palsy is an unexplained episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis. It begins suddenly and worsens over 48 hours. This condition results from damage to the facial nerve (the 7th cranial nerve). Pain and discomfort usually occur on one side of the face or head. Bell's palsy can strike anyone at any age.

Patients with incomplete recovery of facial function might have incomplete eye closure, brow ptosis, and nasal valve collapse, which can potentially affect daily life.

According to the newest reports, there has been a slightly high risk of Bell’s palsy after the Corona vaccination. The study took part in Hong Kong assessed the risk of Bell's palsy within 42 days following vaccination with BNT162b2. They described reported cases of Bell's palsy among vaccine recipients. (Aged 18–110 years for CoronaVac and aged 16–110 years for BNT162b2).

28 clinically confirmed cases of Bell's palsy were reported following CoronaVac and 16 cases were reported following BNT162b2. No sex-based differences were observed in the results. Even though there’s a risk of Bell’s palsy for those who get vaccinated but the protective effects of covid-19 vaccinations outweigh the danger of this incidence.

However, similar to other epidemiological studies, researchers cannot conclude a causal relationship between CoronaVac vaccination and individual Bell's palsy cases purely on the basis of statistical association.

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