Texas Air Force Base Hit With Flu Outbreak Infecting Nearly 160 Troops After Hegseth Lifts Vaccine Requirement: Report

A flu outbreak has been tearing done a Texas Air Force base, little than 2 months aft Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced nan Pentagon would beryllium ending its flu changeable requirement.

The outbreak astatine Lackland Air Force Base successful San Antonio has reportedly sickened astir 160 troops, prompting nan Air Force to temporarily require recruits location to erstwhile again get nan flu shot, The New York Times reports.

“Over nan past 3 weeks, nan 37th Training Wing, successful adjacent coordination pinch nan 59th Medical Wing, has been managing a localized influenza outbreak among trainees astatine Basic Military Training,” an Air Force spokesperson told The Independent in a statement. “Medical professionals and Public Health officials person implemented mitigation measures to isolate and dainty symptomatic trainees to trim further vulnerability and proceed to show nan situation.”

“Once they are cleared by aesculapian professionals they will return to training,” nan charismatic added.

On Wednesday, nan 37th Training Wing announced that Keon McDaniel, a basal subject trainee from nan 737th Training Support Squadron, died earlier successful nan week aft experiencing a “medical emergency” and being taken to Brooke Army Medical Center.

“The origin of nan aesculapian emergency is presently nether investigation, and a broad aesculapian reappraisal is being conducted to find nan facts,” nan portion said successful a statement.

It is unclear if McDaniel’s decease was flu-related.

In April, Hegseth announced nan Pentagon was axing nan military’s argumentation of requiring nan influenza vaccine.

Hegseth called nan request and a anterior argumentation of mandatory Covid shots for troops “absurd, overreaching mandates that only weaken our warfare fighting capabilities.”

“The conception that a flu vaccine must beryllium mandatory for each work member, everywhere, successful each condition astatine each times is conscionable overly wide and not rational,” he added.

In nan aftermath of nan outbreak, nan Pentagon defended nan caller policy.

“The decisions were based upon thorough consequence assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and unit generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations,” main Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said successful a connection to The Independent.

Outside of nan military, nan Trump management has elevated vaccine skeptics to apical positions, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose section has baselessly linked vaccines to autism, while sidelining vaccine advocates and seeking to shrink nan puerility vaccine schedule.