Just two months after US War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s push for “medical autonomy” and religious exemptions, the Pentagon has reinstated mandatory flu vaccinations for all military boot camp recruits.
The move follows a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, which struck around 300 trainees in close-quarters conditions.
However a Pentagon official claimed the vaccine mandates were not directly related to the outbreak. Vaccination uptake among recruits had plunged from near-universal levels to about 40% since the Pentagon dropped its military flu-shot requirement in April.
Army and Navy officials are also now seeking authority to mandate flu shots for deploying troops, healthcare workers and child-care providers. Families Fighting Flu, a member of the WHO-led project Vaccine Safety Net, have cheered the move. Read more at Independent and Washington Times.
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Image credit: Steven Cornfield
