US military service members will no longer be required to get annual flu shot

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth makes announcement and calls military’s flu vaccine mandate ‘broad’ and ‘not rational’

Members of the armed services will no longer be required to have an annual flu vaccination shot under a new policy announced Tuesday by Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary.

In a video statement posted to social media, Hegseth described the mandate as “overly broad” and “not rational” and the decision to drop the vaccine requirement as “seizing this moment to discard any absurd overreaching mandates that only weaken our war fighting capabilities”.