Military services reinstate flu shots for recruits after Texas outbreak
The Army, Navy and Air Force revived flu vaccine requirements after at least 222 basic trainees fell ill at Lackland Air Force Base.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
The Army, Navy and Air Force are again requiring basic trainees to receive influenza vaccines after an outbreak at an Air Force base in Texas sickened at least 222 recruits. Four trainees have been hospitalized, according to figures reported by Ars Technica.
The outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base, part of Joint Base San Antonio, followed an April decision by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to make flu vaccination optional for service members. Hegseth said at the time that the requirement was “not rational” and described the change as “restoring freedom” to military personnel, according to Defense Department statements cited by Ars Technica.
ABC News reported that two unnamed sources said the situation at the base had been worsening. The network reported that sources believed about 40% of new Air Force trainees at Lackland had been vaccinated and that the outbreak began in early June.
One recruit, Keon McDaniel, died after suffering a medical emergency on June 12 during his sixth week of basic training, according to Ars Technica. Officials have not said whether his death was connected to the flu outbreak.
Pentagon grants exceptions
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Ars Technica that the department granted exceptions to Hegseth’s optional flu shot policy for the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Security Agency and Defense Health Agency. Parnell said the decisions followed a “comprehensive review” and fit the military’s practice of adjusting health protections to operational needs.
Parnell said the decisions were based on risk assessments meant to support operational readiness, force generation and protection of at-risk groups. ABC News reported that the Air Force is seeking to vaccinate all recruits at the Texas base, while the Army is preparing to extend the renewed requirement to other groups, including troops deploying overseas.
Officials have not identified the flu strain spreading at Lackland, according to Ars Technica. Seasonal flu activity is usually lower in summer in the broader U.S. population, but transmission can accelerate in military training settings where recruits live and work in close contact.
A long-running military concern
The U.S. military’s use of vaccination has deep roots. The National Park Service says George Washington ordered smallpox inoculation for Continental Army soldiers in 1777 after the disease battered the force during the Revolutionary War.
Military and medical histories cited by Ars Technica also trace a major flu outbreak to a Kansas military base in March 1918. The 1918 influenza pandemic later killed an estimated 43,000 U.S. soldiers, nearly half of U.S. military deaths during World War I, according to National Park Service figures cited in the report.
The Army later supported development of the first influenza vaccine, which was tested in military members, according to historical accounts cited by Ars Technica. The U.S. military issued its first flu shot mandate in 1945, the year the vaccine was licensed.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.