From the Globe and Mail : Canada’s vaccine uses an adjuvant, which consists of squalene (shark liver oil), DL-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) and polysorbate 80 (an emulsifier also used in ice cream). An adjuvant is a chemical product that boosts the immune response. There were claims that squalene, used in the anthrax vaccine, was to blame for Gulf War syndrome. But the evidence just wasn’t there. Claims that mercury in vaccine causes autism have also been debunked. Gulf War Syndrome probably resulted from exposures to a variety of noxious agents.