New study strengthens association between Bell’s Palsy and the COVID shots

This article features a study that provides more evidence that Bell’s palsy happens after the COVID jabs. 

Bell’s palsy is the weakness of the muscles on one side of the face. The weakness may last for days but can become permanent. At the onset of the COVID shots, many have reported an increased incidence of Bell’s palsy among the recipients. 

The image below shows the muscles on the right side of the patient’s face cannot move. The lips on the paralyzed side cannot “smile,” have fewer wrinkles around the right eye, and the right eyebrow does not go up. 

Source: By James Heilman, MD – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11520707

The study’s authors are from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, Harvard Medical School, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

The research ttill in preprint and not yet peer-reviewed put together 50 studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) to assess the quality of the studies and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. 

PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Following PRISMA guidelines assures that the meta-analyses are of high quality. 

Results:

COVID-19 Vaccinated vs. saline placebo using Randomized Controlled Trials

Bell’s palsy was significantly higher in the vaccine group (77,525 doses) versus the placebo (66,682 individuals) after analyzing four phase-3 randomized controlled trials (RCT).

Individuals who had the COVID shots are three times more likely to have Bell’s palsy than those who did not get the shot. 

Observational studies on vaccinated vs. unvaccinated

In nine observational studies, the analysis indicated no significant evidence of increased odds of Bell’s Palsy in the vaccinated group compared to the unvaccinated group (OR: 0.59)

Comment: This part of the study may be confusing to some readers. Why is it that one part of the study says an association while another says there is no association between Bell’s Palsy and COVID-19?

This shows that the association between Bell’s palsy and the jabs depends on the study design. RCTs showed an association, while observational studies do not indicate an association between Bell’s palsy and the COVID shots. 

Randomized controlled trials are more stringent, and thus their conclusions hold more weight than observational studies. 

mRNA shots vs. Vector-based vaccines

The third meta-analysis suggested that the number of post-vaccination Bell’s Palsy among first-dose Pfizer/BioNTech recipients (22,760,698) did not significantly differ from that in first-dose Oxford/AstraZeneca recipients (22,978,880).

Pfizer and Moderna are mRNA shots enclosed in a lipid nanoparticle. In comparison, in vector-based vaccines like the AstraZeneca shots, the spike protein mRNA is inside an adenovirus carrier. 

SARS-CoV-2 infections vs. SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

The risk of developing Bell’s Palsy after the SARS-CoV-2 infection is higher than getting the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (Relative Risk: 4.03 (95% CI 1.78-9.12). 

The relative risk of four means that someone with COVID-19 is four times more likely to have Bell’s palsy than those who had the COVID shots. 

We have to scrutinize this conclusion because one argument of the vaccine proponents is that myocarditis happens during COVID-19. Therefore, it is still OK to get the shots even if they cause myocarditis.

However, that argument becomes null and void when a study concludes that there is no increased risk of myocarditis with COVID-19. I discussed that at 

Israel study: No increased incidence of myocarditis with COVID-19

My question: Are the Bell’s palsy cases from those who had breakthrough infections? Did the COVID shots prime their immune system such that Bell’s palsy occurred after the breakthrough illness?

This study adds new information and strengthens the association between the COVID shots and Bell’s Palsy. This should be relayed to those who may still decide to get the COVID shots to go to work or school. 

In case you don’t know, I don’t think people want to go to work or school if half of their face is paralyzed. In that situation, the paralyzed eye cannot blink such that it is in danger of drying and causing corneal abrasions, infections, and blindness. 

It is also hard to be in public when drooling from the mouth’s paralyzed side. 

Truth heals. Lies kill. Don’t Get Sick!

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Reference:

Rafati et al. Bell’s Palsy Following SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. medRxiv 2022.10.26.22281537; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.26.22281537

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