Because the antigen alone in a vaccine may not be adequate to actually immunize a dog, many noninfectious vaccines must also contain some type of adjuvant. Adjuvants include a wide variety of substances that maintain or “depot” the antigen, as well as stimulate an inflammatory response to provide a more robust immune response to the vaccine antigens. Together, the antigen and adjuvant are designed to stimulate a protective immune response. However, this tissue inflammatory response from adding adjuvants can lead to more undesirable vaccine side-effects.
