Military branches restore flu shot requirement after virus swept through base

It turns out eventually you have to deal with reality.

>"The decisions were based upon thorough risk assessments..."

Both decisions? Or just the walkback one?

I have a close friend who is an officer nearing twenty years. He has not had a tendency to criticize his job. However, he has been adamant that vaccines are incredibly important for the military and the policy changes have really angered him, specifically because of the damage it does to readiness.

Because freedom!

As reported by The Onion, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has ordered all of the individuals who became ill to be dishonorably discharged.

"Our armed forces need warriors, not weak losers who can't fight off a little virus," he stated. "You should be able to do 70 pull-ups in a minute and to never succumb to the so-called flu."

You've got to be able to deploy. Simple as that.

This administration might be the exception, but it is actually normal for the US military to be getting more vaccines than average, even when their effectiveness is suspect (some past flu vaccines) or side effects are moderate to severe (e.g. anthrax vaccines).

Readiness - a matter of national security - tends to trump most concerns that, in civilian populations, might warrant greater choice and debate.

> Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that the Pentagon had granted exceptions to Hegseth’s optional flu shot policy to the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Security Agency, and the Defense Health Agency.

So which ones are still exempt from the vaccines? Space Force, USMC, Coast Guard, who else?

Absolutely none of this should have happened. None.

The 1918 "Spanish flu" was cultivated in the trenches and spread through military camps and demobilization.

Hesgeth should be removed from his position ASAP.

Edit:

>Around 60% of previously unvaccinated trainees at Lackland initially declined the flu shot during the vaccine requirement’s lapse, according to the defense official.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/24/politics/flu-shot-outbrea...

Forget about Hesgeth. The USA is completely effed up.

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