18,000+ Kids Injected With Vaccines While Unconscious At Colorado Hospital

Authored by Jon Fleetwood via Modernity,

A March 2026 publication by The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) confirms that Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHCO) has injected “more than 18,000” pediatric patients under “deep sedation or general anesthesia” who were undergoing surgery or other medical procedures.

The revelation comes after this website reported yesterday that Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has injected 2,054 children with flu vaccines under anesthesia.

The AAP News piece behind a $35 paywall was written by Drs. Caroline A. Pasquariello and Kim M. Strupp, both anesthesiologists.

Their article admits that under anesthesia or sedation, “[a]dditional vaccinations are administered … particularly for children with neurocognitive conditions who are unable to tolerate vaccination without sedation.”

The practice raises serious questions about informed consent and the safety of children being vaccinated while under anesthesia.

• Who independently verified the safety of vaccinating children under anesthesia?
• What happens when vaccine reactions are mistaken for surgical complications?
• And who is accountable if these vulnerable children are harmed?

Medical Studies Warn Vaccinating Children Under Anesthesia Could Conceal Dangerous Complications

Multiple peer-reviewed studies address why administering vaccines during or immediately around surgery and anesthesia can create problems, primarily around fever, diagnostic confusion, and immune effects.

The following literature repeatedly show that vaccine-induced fever and other side effects can be difficult to distinguish from surgical or anesthetic complications.

And that there is limited direct data on immune responses when the two are combined.

• Siebert JN, Posfay-Barbe KM, Habre W, Siegrist CA. Pediatric Anesthesia. 2007;17(5):410-420. This is apparently the main systematic review on the topic. It notes that anesthesia and surgery produce immunomodulatory effects and that “inflammatory responses and fever elicited by vaccines may interfere with the postoperative course.” The authors explicitly recommend a delay (2 days for inactivated vaccines, 14-21 days for live vaccines) specifically “to avoid the risk of misinterpretation of vaccine-driven adverse events as postoperative complications.” They found no direct studies measuring vaccine responses under anesthesia and concluded the immune effects are minor/transient, but still flagged the diagnostic problem as a practical reason to separate the two.
• Ingelmo P, et al. (Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology, 2017;30(3):368-375). This review states that “common vaccine side-effects may be misinterpreted as postsurgical complications” and that surgery/anesthesia “may decrease the efficacy of a vaccine, or promote vaccine-related complications.” It recommends postponing elective surgery 1 week after an inactivated vaccine and 3 weeks after a live vaccine, and also delaying vaccination after surgery for the same diagnostic reason. It notes there is no consensus on timing among anesthesiologists and pediatricians.
• Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (APAGBI) best-practice guidance. This guidance (drawing on the above literature) recommends delaying elective surgery for at least 48 hours after an inactivated vaccine “to avoid diagnostic confusion in the febrile peri-operative child.” It notes that fever and systemic upset are common after certain vaccines (e.g., meningococcal B can cause fever >38.5 °C in 50-60% of infants) and that distinguishing vaccine-related fever from infection or surgical complications is a clinical challenge.
• Lin C, et al. Pediatric Anesthesia. 2021;31(5):531-538. This educational review states that “the effects of anesthesia and surgery on the immune response and complications associated with vaccination during the perioperative period are still poorly understood, and opinions are divided.” It discusses potential vaccine complications in children and the implications of anesthesia on immune responses as open issues.

This post was published by Jon Fleetwood. Support him by subscribing at Substack and following at Instagram / X / Facebook.