A Calgary mother has still not fully recovered from an adverse reaction she received from the Pfizer COVID-19 jab two months ago..Sharlene Karkut, a stay-at-home mom in Calgary, told the Western Standard her problems began within a half hour of getting her first shot on May 21..“Twenty-five minutes after my vaccine I started having issues swallowing, then about five minutes later I just felt my face drop. My daughter had to call 911,” Karkut said, referring to her 13-year-old..The EMS and doctors told Karkut she was having an allergic reaction. They gave her some Benadryl and released her from hospital the next morning..“I went to a friend’s house to keep an eye on things. Four hours later, symptoms were back – issues swallowing, vision, facial issues, could not walk. I have two friends that were with me to prove this. One friend took me back to urgent care,” Karkut said..“That is where they said I was having an anxiety attack, that it had nothing to do with the vaccine.”.The Western Standard reported a Saskatoon man who died three days after his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine and it inspired Karkut to share her experience..“It is the first time I have ever told anyone about it. I just feel that the article that you shared just makes me so sad that people are looking for another reason that these things happen,” she said..“People do not believe there is something not right about getting it. I did have it and had an adverse reaction. Health Canada has been notified.”.On May 31, 10 days after Karkut’s Pfizer shot, her rheumatologist diagnosed her with Bell’s Palsy. Two months have passed since her shot, but she has not entirely recovered..“Right now I still have numbness in my face,” said Karkut, who added her facial muscles are improving. “They are working better. Still having some eye issues but they are getting better.”.In February, the journal Brain, Behavior, & Immunity Immunization published a study regarding a 57-year-old woman entitled, “Bell’s Palsy after second dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination in a patient with history of recurrent Bell’s Palsy.” The paper noted the condition was found in four participants in the Pfizer trials and four in the Moderna trials, including one placebo recipient..“Considering the temporal association and biological plausibility, FDA recommends surveillance for cases of Bell’s Palsy with deployment of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine into larger populations. Such recommendation is not associated with the Pfizer vaccine,” the paper read..Bell’s palsy is an unexplained episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis. It begins suddenly and worsens over 48 hours. This condition results from damage to the facial nerve (the 7th cranial nerve.) Pain and discomfort usually occur on one side of the face or head. Bell’s palsy can strike anyone at any age..Left to her own inclination, Karkut might not have gotten the vaccine at all..“My husband works in the oil field and he is against it,” she said, but added other family members felt differently..“I have heard so much, all from extended family.”.“So sick of it. I was bullied into getting into it. My sister would not let me see her baby without getting it. I kept hearing about how I was making the wrong choice in not getting it.”.Now Karkut’s sister says, “that I better not get the second one.” Karkut still hasn’t visited her, but plans to do so in August. .Regarding the adverse reaction, Karkut adds, “My doctor has been on my side about it” but the experience “has been so bad. Now they have no idea what to do as now I cannot be fully vaccinated, so I am hooped in travelling, etc. So many hoops to still work through.”.Karkut has advice for those pondering vaccination..“Just to honestly do what you think is best. Make up your own mind. Don’t let anyone pressure you into getting something you don’t want.”.Still, Karkut believes stories like hers are more common than the lack of media reports might suggest..“I am just tired of the truth not actually being allowed out there,” she said..Lee Harding is a Western Standard correspondent based in Saskatchewan.
