Peripheral facial nerve (Bell) palsy has been reported and widely suggested as a possible adverse effect of the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) COVID-19 vaccine.

Israel is currently the leading country in vaccination rates per capita, exclusively using the BNT162b2 vaccine, and all residents of Israel are obligatory members of a national digital health registry system.

These factors enable early analysis of adverse events.

We examine whether the BNT162b2 vaccine is associated with an increased risk of acute-onset peripheral facial nerve palsy.

This case-control study was performed from January 1 to February 28, 2021, at the emergency department of a tertiary referral center in central Israel.

Patients admitted for facial nerve palsy were matched by age, sex, and date of admission with control patients admitted for other reasons.

Exposures  Recent vaccination with the BNT162b2 vaccine.