Pentagon restores mandatory flu shots for all recruits as boot camp outbreak sickens nearly 300
The reversal follows a weekslong outbreak that sickened more than 220 trainees and led to at least two hospitalizations, officials said.
- On Wednesday, the U.S. military reinstated mandatory flu vaccinations for new recruits following a sharp spike in influenza cases at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rescinded the flu vaccine mandate in April, describing the requirement as "irrational," causing vaccination rates among trainees to plummet from nearly 100 percent to 40 percent.
- At least 222 recruits have fallen ill and four have been hospitalized during the localized outbreak at the San Antonio base, where trainees live in close quarters.
- Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed Tuesday that the military granted exceptions to Hegseth's voluntary policy, allowing the Army, Navy, and Air Force to resume mandatory immunizations for basic trainees.
- Broader exceptions to Hegseth's voluntary rule may soon be introduced to maintain operational readiness, as the military seeks to protect forces from respiratory viruses that have historically crippled armies.
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85 Articles
Military requiring flu vaccines for recruits as Air Force base deals with outbreak
All military branches began requiring recruits to get flu vaccines earlier this month, an exception to Pete Hegseth's decision to lift the military's vaccine mandate, a Pentagon official said.
Pentagon requires flu shots for some troops after Texas outbreak | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
The U.S. military has resumed requiring flu vaccines for some service members in an exception to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s guidance declaring the shots voluntary two months ago.
US Air Force requested to bring back mandatory flu shots weeks before basic training outbreak
A worsening flu outbreak among recruits attending basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, began earlier this month while an Air Force request to reinstate a mandatory flu shot requirement axed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wound its way through the Pentagon bureaucracy, according to a defense official and a source familiar with the situation.
Associated Press News
Pentagon restores mandatory flu shots for all recruits as boot camp outbreak sickens nearly 300
The Pentagon says military boot camps are once again requiring flu vaccinations for all recruits. This change comes amid a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base boot camp, which has sickened nearly 300 people.
Military Reinstates Flu Vaccines Amid Texas Outbreak — But Won’t Say If Sick Recruits Were Vaccinated - Armed Forces Press
Less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ended the military’s flu shot mandate, several branches reinstated flu vaccine requirements after an outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas sickened at least 222 recruits and hospitalized four. Mainstream outlets tied the outbreak, and the June 12 death of recruit Keon McDaniel, to the end of the mandate, but several physicians and researchers interviewed by The Defender said there …
Marine Corps Times
In shift, Pentagon grants flu vaccine exceptions to military services, some federal agencies
The Pentagon has updated their guidance on influenza vaccinations, giving select forces and agencies exceptions to the optional policy.
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