Key Takeaways
- Two children’s hospitals report administering more than 20,000 flu shots to patients while they were sedated or under general anesthesia.
- CHOP says families consent and exclusions apply, but an anesthesiologist warns that vaccine reactions could be confused with surgical or anesthesia complications.
- A growing program is turning unrelated procedures into vaccination opportunities while leaving parents to judge risks during the pressure of preoperative care.
What Happened
Children’s Hospital Colorado and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have administered more than 20,000 influenza vaccines to children already sedated or under general anesthesia for other procedures.
Colorado’s program began in 2020 and has delivered more than 18,000 doses, according to an American Academy of Pediatrics account of the program. CHOP launched its “Close Your Eyes, We’ll Immunize” initiative in 2023 and reported 2,054 doses during the 2025–2026 flu season. CHOP said roughly one-third of participating families believed the child would otherwise have missed vaccination because of needle fear, limited access, or hesitancy.
CHOP says families receive information before the procedure and staff revisit the offer on the day of care. The hospital excludes children with a history of severe vaccine allergy or Guillain-Barré syndrome and says safeguards are intended to prevent surprise bills. It is also studying whether to add RSV, COVID-19, and catch-up vaccinations.
Dr. Madhava Setty, a board-certified anesthesiologist who trained at CHOP, called the practice “stunningly irresponsible.” He argued that a fever, rash, or allergic response could be difficult to separate from a reaction to anesthesia or the procedure itself. CHOP’s own program description says clinicians must minimize possible confusion between expected vaccine symptoms and symptoms caused by a child’s illness or recovery.
The hospitals’ published materials report no serious vaccine-related complications. A Colorado quality-improvement presentation also found no increase in postoperative emergency visits, fever, or other reported complications. Those findings support the hospitals’ safety case, but they do not settle Setty’s concern about identifying the cause of a rare reaction in real time.
Why It Matters
Parents should not have to make an unrelated medical decision when a child is being prepared for sedation and a scheduled procedure. Hospitals have a duty to keep consent clear, voluntary, and separated from the pressure of immediate care. The programs may help children who fear needles, but convenience does not erase the imbalance between a family and a medical team at the operating-room door. If vaccination becomes a routine add-on to unrelated procedures, families deserve clear notice, time to consider it, and an honest account of what remains uncertain.
The Bigger Picture
The American Academy of Pediatrics has promoted the model as a way to make immunization part of surgical and procedural care. Other hospitals, including Lurie Children’s in Chicago, have announced similar programs. The approach reflects a broader effort to use every medical encounter to raise childhood vaccination rates.
That public-health goal does not make every setting equally appropriate. Available program data show large increases in uptake and no reported safety signal, while critics have not produced a peer-reviewed study showing that anesthesia masks vaccine reactions. The unresolved issue is therefore narrower and more practical: whether preoperative consent gives families enough time and independence to decide, and whether adding another exposure complicates care when a reaction does occur.
Sources & Related Reading
- CHOP: “Close Your Eyes, We’ll Immunize”
- American Society of Anesthesiologists: Colorado program announcement
- Colorado pediatric-anesthesia quality-improvement poster
- Madhava Setty’s criticism
