What is an adjuvant and why is Canada using one?
An adjuvant is a chemical additive used in some vaccines to ramp up the response the immune system generates to a vaccine. Adjuvants aren’t new in Canada; they’re already used in pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines, for example. With an adjuvant, less pure vaccine antigens are needed, so one dose of vaccine can be stretched into four doses. An adjuvant boosts immune response so that recipients are more likely to develop antibodies against the virus. It also makes the immune response more “durable,” so it lasts longer, and it creates a wider response, so that if H1N1 “drifts” or changes, this vaccine should still offer some protection. GSK says its vaccine contains its own proprietary adjuvant system, called AS03. It is a based on squalene, an organic compound obtained from fish oil and mixed with water and vitamin E that is safe, despite Internet-based rumours to the contrary. While the U.S. is not using an adjuvant in its swine flu vaccines, Canada chose to use an adjuvant after t
