Why do some people still think that COVID vaccines cause Bell’s Palsy?
The usual suspects…
Do COVID Vaccines Cause Bell’s Palsy?
If it seems like we have talked about this before, it is because we have…
Remember when Steve Kirsch claimed that he was “99% certain that Justin Bieber’s facial paralysis was caused by the COVID vaccine?”
He was 100% wrong!
Justin Bieber had Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a reactivation of the chicken pox virus.
And we talked about Bell’s palsy when Joseph Mercola was telling folks that meningitis vaccines were causing Bell’s palsy back in 2018 and again when the COVID vaccines first came out.
Fortunately, neither was thought to be associated with Bell’s palsy.
And now, anti-vaccine influencers are once again pushing the idea that COVID vaccines are associated with Bell’s palsy, because another celebrity has, you guessed it, Bell’s palsy.
The evidence is against them though…
Most studies, except those that rely on VAERS, do not show an association between most COVID vaccines and Bell’s palsy.
- COVID-19 vaccines and adverse events of special interest: A multinational Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN) cohort study of 99 million vaccinated individuals – no prioritised safety signal for Bell’s palsy
- Bell’s Palsy After Vaccination Against Covid-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis – a systematic review and meta-analysis that looked at over 20 million vaccinated patients found that ‘the incidence of Bell’s Palsy after vaccination against Covid-19 is comparable to that of the general unvaccinated population’
Bell’s palsy is listed as a side effect of the Jansen COVID vaccine, but it is no longer used in the United States, so there is limited data to be used in a study to see if this is a real association.
Do you know what is known to be associated with Bell’s palsy though?
“This systematic review and meta-analysis found that the incidence of Bell’s Palsy after vaccination against Covid-19 was comparable to that of the general population. This was also the case when stratifying by the first or second dose of the vaccine. Furthermore, we found no significant difference in the incidence of Bell’s Palsy after vaccination among 3 of the most commonly administered vaccines worldwide. Given the increased incidence of Bell’s Palsy in patients who contract Covid-19, a strong argument can be made to support vaccination in this regard. These findings can be used to help counsel patients regarding COVID-19 vaccination and provide the reassurance needed to combat vaccine hesitancy.”
Bell’s Palsy After Vaccination Against Covid-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
That’s right.
A natural COVID-19 infection!
“A 52-year-old male with a past medical history of hypertension presented to the primary care clinic with abrupt right-sided facial paralysis that started three days prior to the visit. He tested positive for COVID-19 four weeks ago with mild cough symptoms. The patient reported a negative COVID-19 test a week before the onset of his facial paralysis. He was unvaccinated against COVID-19, and this was presumed to be his first COVID-19 infection.”
Bell’s Palsy Secondary to COVID-19 Infection
If you want to avoid Bell’s palsy, get vaccinated and protected against COVID.
“After matching patients with COVID-19 to vaccinated individuals (n = 63 551), there was an increased relative risk of 6.8 (95% CI = 3.5-13.2, P < .001) of a diagnosis of BP in those with COVID-19 compared with those who were vaccinated.”
Incidence of Bell Palsy in Patients With COVID-19
And stop listening to anti-vaccine influencers who are putting your life and the lives of your family in danger as they scare you away from getting vaccinated and protected.
Also, by blaming COVID vaccines every time someone has Bell’s palsy, even if they got the vaccine 6 months or two years ago, it can get in the way of finding the real cause!
“In summary, peripheral facial palsy is a frequent manifestation of early Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) in the US and LNB should be included in the differential of patients presenting with acute‐onset peripheral facial palsy.”
Characteristics and outcome of facial nerve palsy from Lyme neuroborreliosis in the United States
Did you know that Bell’s palsy can be an indication that you have Lyme disease? You might not remember the tick bite, but you might remember the characteristic rash two or three weeks before your developed facial paralysis.
You won’t think about it if you are focused on vaccines though!
Lastly, to be considered a plausible cause for Bell’s palsy, you should have developed Bell’s palsy within 6-8 weeks after getting your vaccination. The risk doesn’t last forever…
More on Vaccines and Bell’s Palsy
- Do Vaccines Cause Bell’s Palsy?
- Mistaking Subsequence for Consequence
- Is It a Vaccine Reaction?
- Ask 8 Questions Before You Skip a Vaccine
- COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Surveillance: Summary from VSD RCA
- COVID-19 vaccine safety update: Primary series in young children and booster doses in older children and adults
- Syncope and Bell’s palsy: Distinguishing correlation from causation for adverse events observed after COVID-19 vaccination
- Some on the Pfizer vaccine trials did get Bell’s palsy, but not more than we’d expect by chance
- Why you shouldn’t worry about getting BP from the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
- People who received the COVID-19 vaccine aren’t more likely to develop facial paralysis than people who didn’t receive the vaccine
- UPDATE: AAO-HNS Statement on BP Related to Approved COVID-19 Vaccines
- Bell’s Palsy Secondary to COVID-19 Infection
- Incidence of Bell Palsy in Patients With COVID-19
- Characteristics and outcome of facial nerve palsy from Lyme neuroborreliosis in the United States
Last Updated on April 29, 2024