Aug 16 - The risk of Bell's Palsy, a type of facial paralysis, is higher after Sinovac Biotech Ltd: COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac, but should not be a deterrent to vaccination, according to a study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal.
The beneficial and protective effects of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine far outweigh the risk of this generally self-limiting adverse event, the study mentioned.
The study involved 28 clinically confirmed cases of Bell's Palsy after Sinovac's CoronaVac shot reported among nearly 452,000 individuals who received a first dose of the vaccine and 16 cases after Pfizer BioNtech's vaccine from more than 537,000 individuals identified.
Our results suggest an increase in the risk of Bell's palsy after CoronaVac vaccination according to the study.
The study conducted in Hong Kong evaluated the risk of a adverse event within 42 days of vaccination.
The mechanism of Bell's palsy in patients after vaccination is unknown, the study acknowledged calling for further investigation.
Bell's palsy is mild after vaccination and most symptoms were rare and got better on their own, Sinovac representative Liu Peicheng said in an interview.
Liu said Sinovac had not detected Bell's Palsy risk in its analysis of data from Chinese disease control authorities, the Uppsala Monitoring Centre of the World Health Organisation or its unit's database for adverse events after immunization.
According to the current data, the possible risks and benefits of CoronaVac far outweigh the potential risks, Liu said. The public should be fully vaccinated with CoronaVac to prevent COVID infections and virus transmissions in a short time.