A rare disorder known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome came into the spotlight after pop star Justin Bieber announced he had the disease and was forced to cancel upcoming concerts.
Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox and herpes and can lead to facial paralysis, among others.
Following the announcement, several social media users have linked his syndrome to the Covid-19 vaccine, claiming he has the disorder due to the vaccine. Similar comments have been published in the media with headlines such as "Ramsay Hunt Syndrome after vaccination against Covid-19".
But no, the vaccine is not the cause.
"There is currently no strong evidence that the reported cases of Bell's palsy or Ramsay Hunt syndrome are higher than expected in the general population," Facial Palsy, an organization that supports people affected by palsy, told Euronews facial.
"One of the difficulties is that side effects are identified on the basis of reporting, so some things that are reported may be related to each other, but they are not causal."
In statistical relationships between two or more elements (in this case disease and vaccines) there may be a link between exposure to X and a health effect Y - which does not necessarily mean cause and effect.
