U.S. Military Reinstates Flu Vaccine Requirement for Recruits

All branches of the U.S. military began requiring recruits to receive flu vaccines earlier this month. The requirement restores a long-standing policy that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had made voluntary for service members in late April.

A flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas has infected 275 people in recent weeks. The base houses the Air Force's Basic Military Training program. The reinstatement process began before the outbreak was publicly acknowledged.

By early May all military departments had requested exemptions to keep requiring the vaccine for certain groups. Those exemptions were granted in early June and typically cover personnel in communal living settings, healthcare workers and similar categories.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the exceptions followed a comprehensive review based on risk assessments to maximize readiness while protecting at-risk populations.

An Air Force unit at Lackland has implemented mitigation steps, monitors exposed trainees and treats symptomatic cases with antivirals such as Tamiflu. The flu vaccine was first mandated for troops in 1945, lifted in 1949 and reinstated in the 1950s. It remained mandatory until Hegseth's April order.

The Pentagon continues to require vaccinations against hepatitis B, measles, mumps and rubella.