US Air Force requested to bring back mandatory flu shots weeks before basic training outbreak

Key Points:

• A flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas has sickened at least 275 recruits since early June, coinciding with a lapse in the military's mandatory flu shot policy after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rescinded the requirement in April.
• Approximately 60% of unvaccinated trainees initially declined the flu vaccine during this policy gap, which allowed recruits to opt out following Hegseth's order eliminating the mandate before exemption requests could be processed.
• The Air Force reinstated the flu shot requirement for basic training recruits on June 11 after submitting an exemption request on May 5, but the outbreak had already escalated by that time; a recruit died on June 16 from a medical emergency with unclear links to the flu.
• The delay in processing exemption requests through Pentagon bureaucracy, including approvals from top health advisors and personnel officials, contributed to the policy gap and outbreak, raising concerns about coordination and timing in implementing health policies.
• Critics argue that Hegseth’s abrupt rollback of the vaccine mandate without prior coordination disrupted expert medical input and potentially compromised force readiness and national security.