With the U.S.
poised to approve the first coronavirus vaccine, there are some concerns that a
vaccine could have more side effects than just a sore arm or fever.
Pfizer's findings
showed that that four people in the vaccine group, out of thousands, reported
developing Bell's palsy. The findings also say there is no true connection
between the vaccine causing it in trial participants and being in the general
public.
Dr.
Paul Nee, an infectious disease expert with Nuvance Health, isn't concerned
about the findings.
"It's
not going to dissuade me, as a health care worker, from getting the vaccine at
all," he says. ""The flu vaccine, in a good year, might be 80%
effective. This vaccine is 95% effective. It's pretty spectacular. So I think
with that, and with the safety, I'm rolling up my sleeve and I'm getting
it."
"Let's
say if we took 100,000 people, we might see 10 to 20 people getting this
condition, Bell's palsy, over that year," says Nee.
The
FDA echoed that there is no concrete correlation, but the agency will be
keeping a close eye on it. "There is no clear basis upon which to conclude
a causal relationship at this time, but FDA will recommend surveillance for
cases of Bell's palsy with deployment of the vaccine into larger
populations," it said.