The Pentagon will allow service members to file an exemption for the flu vaccine, according to a recently-released memorandum originally issued in May.
“The strength of our military is built on the readiness of America·s brave men and women in uniform. To ensure that readiness, the Department invests in force health protection to combat
threats from a variety of infectious diseases. including seasonal influenza. or the ‘flu,'” Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg wrote in the document. “This guidance provides common-sense revisions to the Department’s current flu immunization requirements to continue to support a medically ready force while exercising stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
Moving forward, the Defense Department will “conserve its resources by requiring seasonal flu vaccination for Service members only when doing so most directly contributes to readiness.”
While the memo was quietly issued earlier this year, the matter was brought to attention after War Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted a social media statement where an individual wrote, “I found out today that for the first time in over a decade, I won’t be forced to get a flu shot this fall for the privilege of serving my state and country in the National Guard. I suspect that I have Secretary Hegseth to thank for that.”
In April, Hegseth moved to reinstate those who refused to comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“We’re back with more changes at DOD, and this time, an update on COVID-19 and reinstatement. We all know that the previous administration issued unlawful orders on mandatory vaccines—on an experimental vaccine, COVID-19. You know it, we know it,” he said in a video shared on social media.
Hegseth explained that the department is doing what it can to “reinstate those who were affected by that policy. It hasn’t been perfect, and we know that. We’re having an ongoing conversation with you to get it right, working with the White House as well.” He further asserted that the Department wants “anyone impacted by that vaccine mandate back into the military—people of conscience, warriors of conscience—back in our formations.”
