A report recently published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has found the risk of Bell’s Palsy, a type of facial paralysis, is higher after Sinovac Biotech Ltd’s COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac.
However, the authors of the study said this should not be a deterrent for receiving the vaccine.
The Hong Kong study found 28 cases of Bell’s Palsy after Sinovac’s CoronaVac shot reported among nearly 452,000 individuals who received first dose of the vaccine, and 16 cases after Pfizer/BioNtech’s vaccine detected from more than 537,000 individuals.
The mechanism of Bell’s palsy in patients after vaccination is unclear, the study acknowledged, calling for further investigation.
“Bell’s Palsy after vaccination is rare, and most symptoms were mild and got better on their own,” Sinovac representative Liu Peicheng said in a written response.
Liu went on to say that Sinovac has 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 immunsation.
Liu said: “According to the current data, the benefits and protection of CoronaVac far outweigh the possible risks.
“The public should be fully vaccinated in time with CoronaVac to prevent COVID-19 infection and block virus transmission.”
The authors of the study emphatically stated that their findings should not prevent people from receiving COVID vaccinations, saying: “The beneficial and protective effects of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine far outweigh the risk of this generally self-limiting adverse event.”
Kat Jenkins
This is a syndicated feed from Pharmafile
