Children’s Hospital Colorado has injected more than 18,000 children with vaccines while the kids were under anesthesia or deep sedation since 2020. The figure comes from a March 2026 article in AAP News, the American Academy of Pediatrics publication. Two anesthesiologists wrote it: Dr. Caroline Pasquariello from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Dr. Kim Strupp from the Colorado hospital. They described giving “additional vaccinations” during surgical or procedural care, “particularly for children with neurocognitive conditions who are unable to tolerate vaccination without sedation.”
These children were not put under solely for a shot. They were already scheduled for surgery or another procedure that required anesthesia or sedation. Staff are supposed to ask parents ahead of time or in the pre-op area. If the parent agrees, the vaccine goes in while the child is out.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia runs a program it named “Close Your Eyes, We’ll Immunize.” In the 2025-2026 flu season it delivered 2,054 influenza doses this way. About one-third of the families said their child would not have received the shot otherwise because of needle fear, limited access, or hesitation. The hospital noted that no families paid out of pocket and that the program generated more than $60,000 in revenue. Lurie Children’s in Chicago announced a similar flu-shot offer for kids under anesthesia in mid-October 2026. Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara has run a comparable setup.
Once a child is under anesthesia, what’s actually stopping someone from giving them something the parents never agreed to❓
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is running a program called “Close Your Eyes, We’ll Immunize.”
Since 2023, CHOP has been offering parents the chance to have their child vaccinated against the flu while the child is already under sedation or anesthesia for another procedure. Staff raise it on the day of surgery. If the parents consent, the vaccine is given while the child is knocked out.
In the 2025–2026 flu season alone they delivered over 2,000 doses this way. Roughly a third of those children, they say, wouldn’t have received the flu shot otherwise because of needle fear, limited access, or vaccine hesitancy. The hospital has reported generating over $60,000 from the program in one season and has discussed expanding it to include COVID-19, RSV, and other catch-up vaccines.
Other children’s hospitals, including in Colorado, North Carolina, Seattle, Ohio, and Chicago, have run or piloted similar programs.
Anesthesiologists have called it “stunningly irresponsible.” Adding a vaccine under anesthesia introduces another potential source of fever, rash, or allergic reaction at a time when the medical team is already managing potent drugs. If something goes wrong, it becomes harder to know whether it was the anesthetic, the antibiotic, or the vaccine.
Pediatricians have also questioned whether stressed parents on the day of surgery can truly give properly informed consent.
The program exists. It’s on CHOP’s own website. And they’re proud of it.
https://t.co/iZvXookXIf
— “Sudden And Unexpected” (@toobaffled) October 22, 2026
The Colorado hospital’s numbers jumped after it added a best-practice alert in late 2020. Before the alert, staff gave only 30 perioperative vaccines in a six-week stretch. After it, they gave 1,063 over the next 25 weeks. No vaccine-related complications were listed in the early reporting. By February 2024 the hospital had already passed 7,000 doses under anesthesia.
Michael Anthony Articles at Dedicated Issues
Doctors who treat kids under anesthesia have pushed back hard. Dr. Peter McCullough called the practice malpractice. Board-certified anesthesiologists have labeled it “stunningly irresponsible.” Their concern is practical: flu shots and other vaccines commonly cause fever or rash. Those signs can look exactly like complications from surgery, anesthesia drugs, or infection. Distinguishing one from the other becomes harder when the child is still sedated and cannot describe how he feels. Older peer-reviewed reviews have flagged the same problem and recommended separating vaccines from elective surgery by days or weeks to avoid diagnostic mix-ups.
Parents hold the decision, but the window is short. Pre-op areas are busy. Staff have limited time to walk through risks, allergies, or prior reactions. A child with neurocognitive issues cannot object or report symptoms later. The vaccine is not needed for the procedure that put the child under. It adds a separate product and a separate set of possible side effects while the child is already receiving powerful drugs.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Injected 2,054 Children With Flu Vaccines Under Anesthesia—Now Eyes COVID Shots
CHOP uses the time pressures of pediatric surgery to excuse curtailed informed-consent discussions, as one-third of participating families said their children otherwise would have gone unvaccinated.
— Jon Fleetwood (@JonMFleetwood) October 21, 2026
Hospitals bill insurers or public programs for the administration. Vaccine makers sell the product. The AAP has promoted folding immunizations into surgical encounters. Colorado’s volume rose thousands of percent once the process was standardized. CHOP is already looking at expanding beyond flu shots to other vaccines for the same sedated patients.
Independent journalist Jon Fleetwood first reported the Colorado total after the AAP News piece. ZeroHedge and others picked it up. On X, parents and physicians have asked the same questions: how complete is the consent conversation when time is tight, and who answers if a reaction is missed or misread?
If your child has a procedure coming up, ask the question before anyone puts him under. Say it clearly to the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the nurses. Put it in writing on the forms: no vaccines of any kind while the child is sedated. Do not assume the standard consent covers it. The numbers show the practice is already large and growing. Whatfinger News is tracking the vaccine schedules, hospital programs, and the health outcomes parents are seeing. More coverage sits on the health page at dedicatedissues.com/healthfinger/.
— The Whatfinger News Team: Sgt A, Alex, with Grok on edits
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