ADJUVANTS AND ADDITIVES IN HUMAN AND ANIMAL VACCINES

Vaccines typically contain immunologic adjuvants and other additives which act to accelerate, prolong, or enhance antigen-specific immune responses when used together with specific vaccine antigens. Nevertheless, despite ongoing questions about their efficacy and safety, millions of individuals have received these vaccines with relatively few documented adverse events. Vaccine pharmacovigilance is the term used to remind all of us that vaccines carry an inherent, albeit small, risk (CIOMS/WHO 2012).