2.6K
Downloads
39
Episodes
Listen to “VEC Vaccine Notes,” a video and podcast series presented by the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Each episode offers vaccine information in a convenient format, so families have the answers they need to make informed decisions, including details and context that addresses what they may have heard in the news or in conversation with others.
This podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not to be considered as professional medical advice for your personal health or for your family's personal health. You should not use it to replace any relationship with a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. For medical concerns, including decisions about vaccinations, medications and other treatments, you should always consult your physician or, in serious cases, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel. Clinicians must rely on their own informed clinical judgment in making recommendations to their patients. ©2026 The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Episodes
Sep 30, 2026
Sep 30, 2026
15 min
What is thimerosal, and why was it used as a vaccine preservative? Find out in this episode of VEC Vaccine Notes. Charlotte Moser, Co-Director of the Vaccine Education Center, explains the differences between elemental mercury (the silver-colored form of mercury found in products like thermometers and dental fillings), methylmercury (the type we’re exposed to when we eat fish), and ethylmercury (the preservative used in childhood vaccines). She details why small changes in the chemical structure between two compounds that might sound similar greatly impact the level of toxicity and how they are processed by our bodies. This episode also explores the history of thimerosal in multidose vials, why routinely recommended childhood vaccines in the United States transitioned to single-dose vials in the late 1990s, and what decades of rigorous scientific studies reveal about thimerosal and autism. Hint? Study after study found that thimerosal in vaccines does not cause autism.
Check out the video version on YouTube.
Listen to the episode to find out:
- About the worst, single-source mercury poisoning in history
- How ethanal and methanol can help us think about ethylmercury and methylmercury
- Symptoms of neurologic damage caused by mercury
- The different types of studies that looked at thimerosal exposure from vaccines
- Some of the known causes of autism and why we know mercury isn’t among them
To learn more about thimerosal, please visit https://bit.ly/vec-thimerosal.
To learn more about vaccine ingredients, please visit https://bit.ly/vec-vax-ingredients.
Questions? Submit the VEC Vaccine Notes form, https://bit.ly/contact-vec-vaccine-notes.
For other vaccines, diseases or general questions about vaccines, check out https://vaccine.chop.edu.
Subscribe to our Parents PACK newsletter, https://bit.ly/3KfLUoO.
No comments yet. Be the first to say something!