The Pentagon is scrapping the blanket mandatory flu vaccine requirement for service members.
Instead, the annual vaccine is now voluntary for all service members — active duty and reserve — as well as Defense Department civilian personnel.
The move, announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, is to “discard any absurd, overreaching mandates that only weaken our warfighting capabilities,” including the universal flu vaccine, he said.
“The notion that a flu vaccine must be mandatory for every service member everywhere, in every circumstance, at all times, is just overly broad and not rational,” he said in a social media video announcement.
The new policy is effective immediately.
Mr. Hegseth blamed the Biden administration for waging an “unrelenting war” on service members, including “denying them simple medical autonomy and the freedom to express their religious convictions.
“In other words, our men and women in uniform were forced to choose between their conscience and their country, even when those decisions posed no threat to our military readiness,” he said, referring to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Under former President Joseph R. Biden, the military mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for all service members, which resulted in the discharge of thousands who refused on religious or medical grounds. The policy was later repealed by Congress.
The Trump administration has overhauled U.S. vaccine policy, including reversing Biden-era COVID-19 vaccine mandates by ordering the reinstatement of discharged service members who refused the vaccine based on religious, medical or personal grounds.
“We will not force you because your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable,” Mr. Hegseth said, adding, “It’s common sense. It’s the kind of common-sense approach we’re undertaking in this department.”
