Hegseth’s Air Force Quietly Brings Back Flu Vaccine Rule For Recruits After More Than 200 Fall Sick At Base

The Air Force has re-implemented a flu changeable request for trainees aft more than 200 fell sick owed to an outbreak astatine nan Lackland Air Force Base successful San Antonio – conscionable 2 months aft Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dropped a vaccination instruction for nan military.

At nan basal subject training wing, hundreds of trainees, who are already more apt to get sick due to little immune systems from physical, psychological and biology stress, were exposed to nan flu complete nan past 3 weeks, starring to a “localized” outbreak, ABC News reported past week.

As of June 19, location had been 222 cases of nan flu, Rep. Joaquin Castro, who represents nan San Antonio area, said, while 4 had been hospitalized. It’s a crisp summation from 159 cases and 2 hospitalizations a week earlier, ABC reports.

It occurred aft Hegseth dropped flu vaccine requirements for members of nan subject successful April. In a video, nan defense caput described nan vaccine request arsenic “irrational” and portion of “absurd, overreaching mandates.”

Yet, successful nan weeks aft nan argumentation took effect, only 40 percent of Air Force trainees opted successful to beryllium vaccinated, the New York Times reported. The complaint was antecedently adjacent to 100 percent, ABC News reports.

Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell said successful a connection that Hegseth’s caller vaccine guidance had allowed for exemptions. The Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness had granted exemptions to nan Army, Navy, Air Force, National Security Agency, and nan Defense Health Agency.

“The decisions were based upon thorough consequence assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and unit generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations,” Parnell said. “The Department remains committed to nan wellness and readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel.”

With nan exception, nan Air Force has nan extremity of vaccinating each recruits successful this people and each nan caller recruits arriving astatine nan base, ABC reports.

Historically, trainees are nan astir susceptible to respiratory illness owed to their weakened immune strategy while training, nan Defense Health Agency wrote successful an August 2025 monthly aesculapian report. Studies show that recruits person a higher incidence of flu-like unwellness compared to non-recruits.

In summation to nan precocious beingness and intelligence stress, caller recruits slumber successful bunk beds successful unfastened bays and stock meals astatine ample communal tables, nan New York Times reported.

Some had warned that Hegseth’s caller vaccine directive could beryllium detrimental to subject readiness.

“After Secretary Hegseth scrapped nan military’s flu vaccine mandate, it was only a matter of clip earlier an outbreak occurred. It was a reckless determination that put troops successful harm’s measurement and undermined our subject readiness,” Castro wrote connected X past week aft news of nan outbreak emerged.

A spokesperson for nan Air Force said successful a connection that nan 37th Training Wing has been successful adjacent coordination pinch nan 59th Medical Wing to negociate nan localized flu outbreak, including isolating and treating symptomatic trainees to trim exposure.

“Medical unit are besides monitoring trainees who were successful adjacent interaction pinch sick members successful lawsuit they go symptomatic. Symptomatic trainees are receiving nan due attraction pinch antiviral medications specified arsenic Tamiflu. Once they are cleared by aesculapian professionals they will return to training,” nan Air Force spokesperson said.