Annual flu vaccine no longer required for US military, Hegseth says

The military will no longer require U.S. troops to receive the annual flu vaccine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday, rolling back what he described as an “overly broad” mandate that had been in place for seven decades.

“We’re seizing this moment to discard any absurd, overreaching mandates that only weaken our war-fighting capabilities,” Hegseth said in a video posted to his social media channels. “In this case, this includes the universal flu vaccine and the mandate behind it.”

Hegseth said that under a new policy, soldiers would be able to take the vaccine if they believed it was in their best interest, billing it as an effort to “restore freedom and strength to our joint force.”

“But we will not force you, because your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable,” he said.

The move alarmed some lawmakers and public health experts, who warned that it would weaken the military’s readiness.

“Vaccines are key to protecting servicemembers & having a fit and fighting force,” Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a former Army Ranger who completed three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote on X. “Secretary Hegseth’s decision is reckless and puts military readiness at risk.”

Under the Trump administration last year, the military had already introduced some exemptions for reservists to its flu vaccine mandate, according to the AP. Hegseth signed a memorandum Tuesday saying the new policy would be effective immediately for all active and reserve component service members and civilian personnel at the Defense Department.

Chris Meekins, a former official in President Donald Trump’s administration who focused on public health readiness and preparing for biological and infectious-disease threats, told The Washington Post on Tuesday that the Pentagon seemed to be moving toward using vaccines as a selective convenience rather than as a tool to protect its forces.

“The risk here isn’t some dramatic overnight military health crisis. It’s death by a thousand cuts: more flu cases, more missed duty days, more hospitalization costs and more preventable readiness losses,” Meekins said.

The U.S. military first mandated the flu vaccine in 1945, at the end of World War II — in part to hedge against the threat of biological warfare and because the great influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1920 had crippled American troop readiness during World War I, killing more than 26,000 American soldiers. The mandate was briefly withdrawn in 1949 but reinstated in the 1950s.

Flu vaccines are less effective in preventing infections than other vaccines, such as the one for measles, mumps and rubella, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says prevents measles in about 97% of cases when patients have received two doses. But multiple studies have shown the flu vaccine reduces the disease’s severity and averts hospitalizations and deaths.

Officials in the first Trump administration, including the president, had repeatedly touted the importance of flu vaccines and urged Americans to get immunized. Those appeals increased during the coronavirus pandemic, with officials trying to stave off serious illness when hospitals and health care providers were already overwhelmed.

“We’re encouraged that the number of Americans getting the flu vaccine is increasing by roughly 50% compared to last year,” Trump said in September 2020, adding that his administration had ramped up production of the flu vaccine. “We ask Americans to go get their annual flu shot as early as possible.”

But some Republican politicians and voters have increasingly questioned the value of vaccinations, particularly after President Joe Biden’s administration and private employers imposed coronavirus vaccine mandates beginning in 2021. That backlash helped fuel the political rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who questioned vaccines during his 2024 presidential campaign and was tapped by Trump to lead the nation’s health department last year.

Kennedy has also linked flu vaccines to a neurological condition affecting his voice, although he has acknowledged that he is unable to prove a connection. He has said he stopped getting flu shots about two decades ago.

In his video Tuesday, Hegseth invoked the coronavirus vaccine mandate implemented by Biden’s administration to justify his decision to stop requiring the flu vaccine.

“Our men and women in uniform were forced to choose between their conscience and their country. … That era of betrayal is over,” Hegseth said.

Trump has also amplified conspiracies around vaccines in his second term, suggesting without evidence that they have contributed to harms, and pushed for changes to routine childhood vaccines. White House officials have recently sought to shift attention away from the administration’s vaccine changes, with polls showing that most Americans trust vaccine safety and could move their votes in the upcoming midterm elections away from candidates who question vaccines.

Flu vaccination rates have fallen from pre-pandemic levels, particularly among children. About 50% of children between 6 months and 17 years old received a flu shot during the most recent flu season, down from about 64% during the 2019-2020 flu season, according to data compiled by the CDC.