Anesthesia as a Partner in Public Health: Enabling National Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Serosurveillance in Australia

Abstract

Anesthetic departments played a critical role in Australia’s COVID-19 response by facilitating the collection of residual blood samples from children undergoing elective procedures. Through a partnership with the Pediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance network, this approach enabled three national SARS-CoV-2 serosurveys between 2020 and 2023. It provided an ethical, feasible, and nationally representative method for assessing infection- and vaccine-derived immunity in children, a population in whom routine blood sampling is difficult and from whom residual blood samples are not commonly available. The resulting data informed COVID-19 vaccination policy, improved understanding of infection burden and immunity, and contributed to broader public health decision-making. This experience demonstrates how anesthetic departments can extend their impact beyond perioperative care, serving as essential partners in public health surveillance and research.