Pentagon Reinstates Flu Shot Mandate Amid Boot Camp Outbreak

WHO:

CNN - Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas

CNN - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

CNN - Sean Parnell, Pentagon’s top spokesperson

ABC News - Michele Slafkosky, executive director of Families Fighting Flu

WHAT:

CNN - A flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base has sickened at least 275 recruits.

ABC News - The Pentagon has reinstated mandatory flu vaccinations for all recruits at military boot camps.

ABC News - Approximately 60% of previously unvaccinated trainees at Lackland initially declined the flu shot.

ABC News - The base handles roughly 700 new recruits every week.

ABC News - The outbreak has produced 275 confirmed cases of the flu.

WHERE:

CNN - Lackland Air Force Base, Texas

ABC News - U.S. military boot camps

WHEN:

CNN - A recruit died in a military hospital on June 16.

CNN - The vaccine mandate for Air Force recruits was restored on June 11.

ABC News - Hegseth announced the repeal of the flu vaccine mandate at the end of April.

ABC News - The Air Force submitted its exception request for basic training attendees on May 5.

WHY:

CNN - Hegseth cited “medical autonomy” and religious freedom for making the flu shot optional.

CNN - The decision to reinstate the vaccine was based on thorough risk assessments to maximize operational readiness and safeguard at-risk populations.

HOW:

CNN - The reinstatement of the flu shot requirement involved exception requests submitted by military branches after Hegseth's announcement.

CNN - The exception requests took more than a month to process through military bureaucracy.

(UPDATED June 25, 2026 01:44 UTC)

A flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas has sickened at least 275 recruits, prompting the Pentagon to reinstate mandatory flu vaccinations for all recruits at military boot camps. Approximately 60 percent of previously unvaccinated trainees at the base initially declined the flu shot, which handles around 700 new recruits each week. The decision to restore the vaccine mandate follows a thorough risk assessment aimed at maximizing operational readiness and protecting at-risk populations.