2.2K
Downloads
34
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.
Learn about our new podcast and video series, called “VEC Vaccine Notes.” Charlotte Moser, Co-Director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, will host each episode. In this series trailer, Charlotte discusses why we felt the time was right for this series, what information will be covered, and when new episodes will drop.
Check out the series webpage at https://vaccine.chop.edu/parents.
Check out the series playlist on YouTube https://bit.ly/vaccine-notes-playlist.
Episodes
Sep 10, 2025
Sep 10, 2025
17 min
Charlotte Moser, Co-Director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, talks about varicella, also known as chickenpox, and the vaccine that protects against it. She addresses common questions and discusses the relative risks and benefits of the disease and vaccine.
Find out:
- How many children died from chickenpox every week before the vaccine became available
- Three ways the virus can spread
- What chickenpox “crops” are and how they affect the look of the rash
- Why so-called “flesh-eating” bacteria can be a problem when people have chickenpox
- Two lesser-known complications that can occur weeks or months after recovery
- Why the vaccine strain is called the Oka strain
- Who shouldn’t get the chickenpox vaccine
- Whether the chickenpox vaccine can cause shingles later in life
- Whether the vaccine delays disease until adulthood when people are more susceptible to severe disease
- Some theories about why we call it “chickenpox”
To learn more about chickenpox and the vaccine, please visit https://bit.ly/chickenpox-vaccine.
Questions? Submit the VEC Vaccine Notes form.
For other vaccines, diseases or general questions about vaccines, check out https://vaccine.chop.edu.
Subscribe to our Parents PACK newsletter.
Aug 25, 2025
Aug 25, 2025
3 min
Charlotte Moser, Co-Director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, introduces our new video and podcast series, called “VEC Vaccine Notes.” Charlotte discusses why we felt the time was right for this series, what information will be covered, and when new episodes will drop.
Check out the video version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RkaXzZydvw.