The Squalene Dilemma: How COVID-19 Vaccines Threaten Sharks and the Natural Marine Order - Inertia Network

photo by Perrin James

Big thanks to Emily Larman at Inertia Network, she created a piece more in-depth than most press we’ve seen surrounding the #SharkFreeVaccines initiative. Last week, we hit 100K on the petition to ask big pharmaceutical companies to stop using shark squalene and switch to existing sustainable alternatives. Can you help us keep this movement going? Petition link at the top of our site!

“In the unprecedented age of COVID-19, there has been a universal sprint to develop a vaccine to counteract the pandemic. An adjuvant is a component of many vaccines used in conjunction with a reduced amount of antigen to improve the efficacy of the immune response. Squalene has most recently been used as a main ingredient in the adjuvants for malaria and flu vaccines with no mass-produced natural alternative. An emulsion of squalene is used to help stimulate the immune reaction and reduce the amount of substance needed (pertinent for condensing large-scale production) - principally as MF59 (1990s) and AS03 (developed for 2009 flu pandemic), which are oil-to-water emulsions of squalene oil in flu vaccines. This use of squalene is not only unethical, but more notably, avoidable.

In a number of the preclinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines squalene is being tested to strengthen the adjuvant. Companies like GlaxoSmithKline are slating that they may need a billion doses of adjuvant for commercial release, at 10mg a dose. When speaking with Stefanie Brendl of Shark Allies, the woman who broke this initial research and launched a petition for fair use back in September against the FDA, she stressed that there is a critical disconnect regarding public awareness of squalene usage in vaccines that can be addressed before it's too late. And if not now, then moving forward.”