As Air Force base faces flu outbreak, military eyes exceptions to Hegseth’s vaccine policy

For eight decades, the U.S. military required service members to get flu shots for the most obvious of reasons: The armed forces saw obvious value in protecting the troops and ensuring military readiness.

In April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on the heels of a brutal flu season in the United States, nevertheless announced a bold new idea: The Pentagon he leads would no longer mandate flu vaccines for those in uniform.

Two months later, the consequences started coming into view: A major flu outbreak sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Days later, the Air Force confirmed that the total had climbed to 222 and included multiple hospitalizations.

Last week, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson told The New York Times that the Defense Department would stand by Hegseth’s misguided decision despite the outbreak. This week, however, ABC News reported:

[T]he services have already been given exceptions to Hegseth’s policy according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement provided to ABC News. As part of those exceptions to the policy, the Army, Navy and Air Force are once again requiring flu shots for basic trainees, according to officials.

If this is accurate, it seems like an important reversal — and an unsubtle acknowledgement that the beleaguered defense secretary has made a dramatic mistake.

When the outbreak in Texas first began, the Air Force acknowledged that only about 40% of trainees opted to take the flu vaccine — a total that used to be 100%, because it wasn’t optional until two months ago. In response to the developments in Lackland, however, the base received an exception from Hegseth’s policy and started requiring recruits to get vaccinated.

The ABC News report, however, suggests the change isn’t just limited to one base: The shift applies to basic trainees across the Army, Navy and Air Force. The same report added:

[W]ith the new exception to policy, the Air Force has the goal of vaccinating all of the recruits in this recruit class and will vaccinate all new recruits arriving at the base according to one of the sources.

Moreover, the Army is preparing in the coming weeks to broaden that requirement to troops deploying overseas, first responders, child care workers, health care personnel, prison staff and soldiers taking part in certain large-scale training exercises, according to a service spokesperson.

The military, above all, is a deeply pragmatic institution. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, might have a culture war crusade to fight and ideological itches to scratch, but most military leaders are far more interested in solving problems than advancing assorted causes.

With this in mind, ABC News’ report added, “While the Pentagon sets policy for the military, the services and its commanders often retain broad discretion to adjust how those directives are carried out, whether to address safety concerns or work around bureaucratic hurdles.”

While this report has not been independently verified by MS NOW, if it’s correct, it suggests military branches have decided that Hegseth’s misguided approach to protecting American troops is largely worth ignoring.

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