Discussion:
COVID-19 can cause neurological symptoms such as stroke, Guillain-Barre syndrome, transverse myelitis, epilepsy, and cranial nerve palsies in nearly 36% of individuals. Peripheral nerve lesions affect 8% of the population. COVID-19 infection can cause Bell’s palsy, which is one of the neurological symptoms [4]. Bell’s palsy is preferred by 15-20 people per 100,000 in the general population [7].
Bell’s palsy is a face motor neuron injury that affects the lower motor neurons. It’s usually idiopathic; however hypertension, diabetes, obesity, pregnancy, preeclampsia, trauma, tumors, infections, autoimmune illnesses, and vacuities have all been linked to it. The etiology of Bell’s palsy in COVID-19 is unknown, but it could be due to direct inflammation of the facial nerve, which causes edema and nerve compression in the canal. It could also be caused by an immune reaction. COVID-19 infection is linked to a low lymphocyte count, which can lead to herpes zoster virus reactivation in the facial nerve ganglia, resulting in facial palsy. The majority of Bell’s palsy cases improved on their own over time, however 5-10% of cases left with residual facial weakness [4].
Despite this, we report the first incidence of Bell’s palsy following AstraZeneca vaccine, but no conclusive proof of a link between Bell’s palsy and COVID-19 vaccination exists at this time.
According to a study conducted by Wan and colleagues in Hong Kong on the relationship between Bell’s palsy and the mRNA-based BNT162 b2 vaccine, patients who received COVID-19 vaccine have a higher risk of getting Bell’s palsy than those who were not vaccinated [8].
The observed prevalence of Bell’s palsy among vaccinated persons was no greater than the expected background rate, according to the US Food and Drug Administration and the UK Medicine and Healthcare Product Regulatory Agency [9].