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

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”.

The policy change applies to active duty, reserve component and civilian personnel, according to a Pentagon memorandum released Tuesday.

“If you an American Warrior entrusted to defend this nation, believe that the flu vaccine is in your best interest, then you are free to take it,” Hegseth said in his statement. “You should. But we will not force you, because your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable.”

The US army developed the first flu vaccine at the start of the second world war due to concern of a repeat of the influenza outbreak of 1918 and its effect on military readiness and combat capabilities. Soldiers served as large-scale test subjects for the program at the University of Michigan. Its first widespread use was licensed for the military in 1945 and later for civilians.

An annual flu vaccination has been required for service members for more than 80 years, with some exemption granted for severe allergies or pregnancy, or for administrative reasons including sincere religious beliefs.

Vaccine denialism during the coronavirus pandemic outbreak affected the military: about 8,000 service members were separated from service for refusing to take the Covid-19 vaccine between 2021 and 2022. Many others left voluntarily when their enlistments ended.

The Pentagon rescinded the Covid-19 vaccine mandate in September and Donald Trump signed an executive order last year reinstating service members discharged under the department’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate. Under the order, separated service members who provide a written and sworn attestation that they voluntarily left the service or allowed their service to lapse according to appropriate procedures, rather than be vaccinated under the vaccine mandate, can return to service with no impact on their service status, rank or pay.