COVID-19: UK regulator makes big claim after 4 Pfizer vaccine volunteers develop Bell's palsy in US

UK drug regulator has allayed fears of Bell's palsy being associated with coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer.

UK drug regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has allayed fears of Bell's palsy being associated with coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech after four participants of a US trials suffered from the facial paralysis. 

The vaccine has been developed by US-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech.

According to healthfeedback.org, "four cases in the vaccine group do not represent a frequency above that expected in the general population."

"Even in an unvaccinated population, a certain number of deaths and cases of Bell’s palsy are expected solely by random chance. The frequency of death and Bell’s palsy seen in vaccine participants is not higher than the expected background rate, indicating that there is most likely no causal relationship to the vaccine," added healthfeedback.org.

MHRA also made simialr observations saying that Pfizer vaccine's safety profile is similar to other kinds of routinely used inoculations. The British regulator asserted that it will never allow the supply of any vaccine in the country which will not fulfill the mandated standards for safety, quality and efficacy.

It is to be noted that Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said on December 9 that the pharma giant did not "cut any corners" while rolling out the vaccines.

The vaccine has "been tested in the exact same way as we are testing any vaccine that is circulating out there," Bourla asserted, adding, "this vaccine actually was tested, because of the scrutiny, with even higher standards in terms of how we do things."

"Always there are people who are sceptical about vaccines, but I have to say they are wrong," the Pfizer CEO had said.