Military branches restore flu shot requirement after virus swept through base
5 hours ago
- #vaccination policy
- #military health
- #influenza outbreak
- The Army, Navy, and Air Force have reinstated a requirement for basic trainees to receive influenza vaccinations.
- The policy reversal follows a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, which sickened at least 222 recruits and hospitalized four, with one recruit dying.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had eliminated the flu shot mandate in April, calling it 'not rational' and framing its removal as restoring freedom to military members.
- The outbreak highlights the risk infectious diseases pose in military settings, where tight living conditions facilitate pathogen spread.
- Approximately 40% of new Air Force trainees at the base were vaccinated, and the outbreak began in early June.