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Pete Hegseth Dragged After His Elimination Of Mandatory Flu Vaccines For Military Has To Be Nearly Immediately Walked Back Due To Outbreak

Pete Hegseth Dragged After His Elimination Of Mandatory Flu Vaccines For Military Has To Be Nearly Immediately Walked Back Due To Outbreak
John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

After Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced in April that he was making the flu shot optional for U.S. military personnel instead of mandatory, a massive flu outbreak at an Air Force base in Texas has reportedly caused the new policy to be walked back for basic trainees.

Amelia Mavis Christnot
By Amelia Mavis ChristnotJun 25, 2026
Amelia Mavis Christnot

Amelia is an Oglala Lakȟóta of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Kanien'kehá:ka of the Haudenosaunee and Métis Navy brat who settled in the wilds of Northern Maine. A member of the Indigenous Journalists Association, she considers herself another proud Maineiac.

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As of June 22, the Air Force Times reported over 200 members of the United States Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, had fallen ill after MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense, former Fox News weekend host Pete Hegseth, had eliminated the mandatory flu vaccine requirement for service members only two months prior.

The New York Times reported Keon McDaniel, a USAF recruit in his sixth week of basic training, died after falling ill, although they were unable to confirm his condition was directly tied to the outbreak of influenza on base.

Hegseth claimed his elimination of vaccine mandates was a way to "restore freedom," but the move is now being cited as another example of Hegseth's dangerous incompetence instead.

Pete Hegseth proudly announced that flu vaccines were no longer required for the military.Predictably, a flu outbreak has descended upon the Air Force’s boot camp. Flu vaccines are again required for all new recruits.

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— Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD (@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social) June 25, 2026 at 12:38 PM

Hegseth had announced his new policy on April 21.

During his video announcement, the former Fox News host attacked former Democratic President Joe Biden then called his revocation an effort to encourage medical autonomy in the military and a “common sense approach” meant to “restore freedom.”

Now Hegseth's words and actions are once again coming back to bite him.


It was Pete's Hegseth's dumb decision to end required flu vaccines for military trainees. What happened? Massive numbers of recruits came down with the flu! So can we trust Hegseth's dumb decisions not to promote those recommended for promotion by superior officers? NO!HEGSETH IS INCOMPETENT!!
— petluv.bsky.social (@petluv.bsky.social) June 25, 2026 at 11:02 AM



Even the moderate politics subReddit had a harsh assessment for Hegseth.

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r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


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r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


r/moderatepolitics/Reddit

The Pentagon has reinstated the mandatory flu vaccination for new recruits—the population most vulnerable to widespread outbreaks.

The Pentagon announced that all new military recruits entering basic training must once again receive the annual flu vaccine. This comes 2 months after Pete Hegseth ended the military-wide flu vaccine mandate.The decision follows a significant flu outbreak at the Air Force’s basic training center.
— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) June 25, 2026 at 11:11 AM

According to an October 2025 Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division report that Hegseth seemingly ignored, the mandatory flu vaccination helped protect older service members who often suffer more severely from influenza and assisted in protecting the overall health of the military, especially among new recruits who have the highest rates of flu infections each year.

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