A worsening flu outbreak among recruits attending basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, has led the Air Force to request the reinstatement of a mandatory flu shot requirement. The outbreak, which has sickened at least 275 recruits, began earlier this month.
Background
In April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the flu vaccine would no longer be mandatory for US troops, allowing military services to request exemptions. The Air Force submitted its exception request for basic training attendees on May 5, but the request took over a month to be approved, during which time the outbreak at Lackland gained steam.
The Air Force confirmed that a recruit died in a military hospital on June 16 after experiencing a medical emergency, but it is unclear whether the death is linked to the flu outbreak. Around 60% of previously unvaccinated trainees at Lackland initially declined the flu shot during the vaccine requirement’s lapse.
Response
The Pentagon’s top spokesperson, Sean Parnell, stated that the Defense Department had granted exceptions to policy, enabling mandatory vaccines for specific populations across the military. The decisions were based on thorough risk assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and force generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
