Military requiring flu vaccines for recruits as Air Force base deals with outbreak

All branches of the U.S. military have resumed requiring flu vaccinations for recruits, a move that creates an exception to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's earlier decision to lift the military's vaccine mandate. A Pentagon official confirmed the reinstatement to CBS News.

The decision to require flu shots for recruits was made before a significant flu outbreak was publicly acknowledged at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. The base, which houses the Air Force's Basic Military Training program, has reported 275 infections in recent weeks. Mitigation measures, including monitoring exposed trainees and providing antiviral medications, are in place at Lackland.

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overly broad and not rational

Secretary Hegseth had announced in late April that the annual flu vaccine would become voluntary for service members, calling mandatory vaccination "overly broad and not rational." However, by early May, all military departments had requested exemptions to continue requiring the vaccine for specific groups. These exemptions, granted in early June, typically apply to individuals in communal living situations, healthcare workers, and other at-risk categories.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated that the exceptions were issued after a comprehensive review, focusing on maximizing operational readiness and safeguarding vulnerable populations. The military has a long history of mandatory vaccinations, dating back to the Revolutionary War, with flu vaccines being mandatory for troops for decades until Hegseth's order.

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The decisions were based upon thorough risk assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and force generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations. The Department remains committed to the health and readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel.