What is squalene?
The adjuvant used in the swine flu vaccine is made with vitamin E, water and squalene, derived from shark liver. Squalene is an organic substance found in all humans; our bodies use it to synthesize sterols – such as cholesterol — and steroids. It is also found in all animals, plants, and a variety of foods, cosmetics, and medicines. Some websites have linked squalene to the anthrax vaccines to Gulf War Syndrome, but those allegations have been shown to be false. Squalene was never used in the vaccines. And while anti-squalene antibodies were found in some of those with Gulf War Syndrome, they are also found in the blood of people who have never received a vaccine containing squalene. Over 22 million doses of squalene-containing vaccines have been administered around the world, mostly in adults. “The absence of significant vaccine-related adverse events following this number of doses suggests that squalene in vaccines has no significant risk,” says the World Health Organization.
