🚨BREAKIMG: ATTENTION PARENTS! A family doctor in the Chicago area is warning that hospitals are vaccinating children while they are under anesthesia, often without clear, informed consent from parents. In his own words: “I'm a family doctor who practices in the suburbs and the city of Chicago. I wanted to offer some practical advice tonight to those of you who, like me, might be angry and very concerned about the news reports detailing the rise of what one hospital is calling, close your eyes, we'll immunize. This is a growing practice, perhaps pioneered at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia... where children are undergoing elective and emergency medical surgeries and being immunized while they're away from their parents in the operating room.” He adds that parents have often given consent unknowingly or under duress, and that true informed consent is rarely being provided the way it should be. Flu shots are the most common, but RSV, COVID, and other vaccines are also being given while kids are sedated. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has run its official “Close Your Eyes, We’ll Immunize” program since 2023 and reported giving 2,054 influenza doses this way in the 2025–2026 season alone. Children’s Hospital Colorado has done it for more than 18,000 patients since 2020. Lurie Children’s in Chicago and other facilities have similar offers, with staff raising the option on the day of surgery. Imagine taking your child in for appendicitis. You sign a form saying the team can do what’s necessary to help your child. Fifteen minutes later, before the first incision, your child gets a flu shot you never specifically approved. That is the scenario the doctor is describing. Ask, in writing, before your child goes under. Do not assume a general surgical consent covers vaccines.