(The Center Square) – A Chicago children’s hospital is offering flu vaccines to children while they are under anesthesia for surgery or other scheduled procedures, a practice a state lawmaker and pediatric anesthesiologist says can be appropriate when parents provide informed consent.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago announced last month that eligible patients ages 6 months and older can receive the annual flu shot while undergoing a scheduled procedure at its downtown Chicago hospital or ambulatory surgery centers in Westchester and Northbrook.
According to the hospital, nurses ask parents or caregivers on the day of the procedure whether they want their child vaccinated. The hospital says the vaccine is administered only after a parent or legal guardian provides explicit consent.
The announcement comes amid social media criticism of hospitals offering vaccinations to children while they are sedated or unconscious, with some questioning whether parents fully understand what they are authorizing.
Illinois state Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, a practicing pediatric anesthesiologist at a Central Illinois children’s hospital, defended the practice, saying it can help children with autism, disabilities or severe anxiety around needles receive vaccinations without the distress of a separate appointment.
“We do this and we only do it with the parent’s consent,” Hauter told The Center Square.
Hauter said vaccinations are sometimes coordinated with other procedures, blood draws or necessary injections to avoid putting children through multiple stressful medical encounters.
He said his hospital requires informed consent and that medical staff verify the procedures authorized by parents before proceeding.
“Anything else is considered assault,” Hauter said, referring to medical procedures performed without parental authorization.
Hauter said the practice is not widespread in his experience, estimating he has personally participated in only a handful of such vaccinations this year.
He rejected claims that hospitals are using broad surgical consent forms to vaccinate children without parents’ knowledge.
“To say that we’re doing this without their consent is just, it’s just not happening,” Hauter said. “And if it does happen, that would be a huge deal.”
Naperville-area family physician Dr. Sean Rardin raised concerns about the practice in a social media video, warning parents that general surgical consent forms could contain language broad enough to authorize additional medications or procedures without parents realizing what is being offered.
Rardin compared the practice to his experience with newborn hepatitis B vaccinations earlier in his medical career. He said he encountered parents who later discovered their newborns had received the vaccine without recalling being specifically asked to authorize it.
He urged parents to communicate their vaccination preferences to every member of their child’s medical team and put their wishes in writing.
Rardin also questioned the medical reasoning for administering vaccines during unrelated surgical procedures, arguing that potential side effects could complicate recovery.
Hauter disputed the suggestion that vaccination under anesthesia is inherently unsafe. He said anesthesia does not prevent children from mounting an appropriate immune response, although doctors consider a child’s medical condition and the type of surgery before deciding whether vaccination is appropriate.
The practice is not limited to Illinois.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia launched its “Close Your Eyes, We’ll Immunize” program in 2023. The hospital’s May 2026 report said it administered 2,054 influenza vaccine doses to children undergoing sedation or anesthesia during the 2025-2026 flu season.
The Philadelphia hospital said about one-third of participating families reported their children otherwise would not have received the flu vaccine, citing barriers including needle anxiety, limited access to seasonal health care and vaccine hesitancy.
Families receive information about the program through preoperative communications. Staff revisit the option on the day of the procedure, assess interest and identify eligible patients. The hospital says vaccination occurs when families agree.
The Philadelphia program is also exploring whether to expand its offerings to include additional immunizations, including RSV and COVID-19 vaccines, as well as catch-up vaccinations for children who are behind on immunizations.
Children’s Hospital Colorado has also offered influenza vaccinations under anesthesia since 2020. The American Academy of Pediatrics has highlighted the program as a model other hospitals could consider.
Lurie Children’s said its program is intended to make preventive care more convenient, particularly for children who experience anxiety around needles or vaccinations.
The hospital’s announcement identifies influenza vaccination as the current offering and says the program is available to eligible patients undergoing scheduled procedures.
The Center Square contacted Lurie Children’s seeking additional information about its consent procedures, the number of children vaccinated through the program and whether the hospital plans to expand the types of vaccines offered. The hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hauter said he would welcome information about any verified case in which a hospital administered a vaccine without parental consent.
“I would love to hear an actual patient that this was done to,” Hauter said. “If this is happening, I would want to know about this.”
The debate ultimately centers on how hospitals balance preventive care with parental decision-making when children are already undergoing anesthesia for another medical procedure.
