Higher risk of Bell's Palsy after Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine – study

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FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker prepares a dose of China’s Sinovac Biotech vaccine for the coronavirus disease in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

(Reuters) – Risk of Bell’s Palsy, a type of facial paralysis, is higher after the first dose of Sinovac Biotech Ltd’s COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac, 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 conducted in more than 451,000 individuals showed 28 clinically confirmed cases of Bell’s Palsy following CoronaVac, compared to 16 cases following Pfizer/BioNtech’s vaccine.

“Our findings suggest an overall increased risk of Bell’s palsy after CoronaVac vaccination,” according to the study.

The study performed in Hong Kong assessed the risk of the adverse event within 42 days following vaccination.

Sinovac did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

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