US Military Reinstates Flu Vaccine Mandate for New Recruits

The US military reinstated mandatory flu vaccination for new recruits earlier this week after a two-month suspension. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had removed the mandate at the end of April 2026. The reinstatement follows a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, that sickened at least 275 people and hospitalized four.

Recruit Keon McDaniel died earlier this month after a medical emergency at the base. The cause of his death remains under investigation and its connection to the flu outbreak has not been determined. Flu vaccination rates among military personnel fell to 40 percent after the mandate ended.

The vaccines now being administered expire on 30 June 2026. New doses will not be available until August 2026 or later. Toti Sanchez, former deputy chief at the armed forces health surveillance division of the US Defense Health Agency, said extending use of the current vaccines beyond their expiration date is unlikely.

Sanchez stated that manufacturers typically cannot supply new doses before the fourth week of August and that the manufacturing timeline is etched in stone. Military leaders are exercising maximum expediency in vaccinating individuals who had not been vaccinated previously before 30 June, Sanchez added.

The army plans to mandate flu vaccines for overseas troops, first responders, childcare workers, healthcare personnel, prison staff, and soldiers in large-scale training exercises.

Approximately 700 new recruits arrive at Lackland every week. Caitlin Rivers, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said basic training environments are famous for being conducive to outbreaks. Younger recruits in their late teens or early 20s are particularly susceptible because they have encountered fewer influenza variants, Rivers stated.