An influenza outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, is sickening dozens to more than 200 trainees, according to multiple reports. CBS News and other outlets describe that service members in basic training have fallen ill in the weeks following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision to rescind the military’s longstanding requirement for annual flu vaccinations. The Hill reports that cases rise to about 160 initially and then increase further to roughly 222 by mid-June, while Air Force Times and Military Times similarly report around 200 trainees affected. Several outlets place the outbreak in a timeframe of about two months after the vaccine mandate ended. The Independent and The Guardian also report large numbers of recruits becoming ill around the same period. Separate reporting indicates that, as the outbreak grows, the military is taking steps to reinstate flu shot requirements for service members or recruits, though details may vary by outlet and timing. Officials at the base or the Air Force are mentioned as providing context for the response, but the core reports across outlets focus on the outbreak’s scale and its proximity to the end of mandatory flu vaccinations.
Flu outbreak hits Lackland Air Force Base after flu vaccine mandate is rescinded
An influenza outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, is sickening dozens to more than 200 trainees, according to multiple reports. CBS News and other outlets describe that service m...
- An influenza outbreak is affecting trainees or service members at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
- Multiple outlets report the number of flu cases reaches roughly 160 and then rises to around 200-plus (about 222 reported by some).
- Reports link the outbreak’s timing to the period after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ends mandatory annual flu vaccinations.
- The outbreak is described as occurring within weeks to about two months of the vaccine requirement being rescinded.
- Some reporting says the military or Air Force is moving to reinstate flu shot requirements in response to the outbreak.
As of June 19, around 222 flu cases were reported on Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas
3 months agoMilitary branches are reintroducing flu shot requirements as an outbreak has been growing at Lackland Air Force Base, where new recruits are trained. The post Military Reinstates Flu Shot Requirement Amid Air Force Flu Outbreak Just Months After Hegseth Scrapped Mandate first appeared on Mediaite.
3 months agoMore than 220 troops have contracted influenza at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, up from 160 reported last week in a major outbreak that comes less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that flu vaccinations would no longer be mandatory for service members. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), whose district includes Lackland, on Friday...
3 months agoThe outbreak among trainees comes two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the annual flu shot optional for U.S. military personnel.
3 months agoThe outbreak among trainees comes two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the annual flu shot optional for U.S. military personnel.
3 months agoMore than 160 troops have contracted influenza at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas in the past few weeks following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision earlier this year to end mandatory flu vaccines for service members, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill on Friday. The Air Force told The Hill that the...
3 months agoDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Pentagon was canceling what he called the ‘absurd’ requirement to get a yearly flu shot
3 months agoA flu outbreak has swept through an Air Force basic training facility in Texas just two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ended the military's longstanding requirement that service members receive annual flu vaccinations, according to a Thursday report from ABC News. The post Air Force Base Hit by Flu Outbreak After Pete Hegseth Ends Vaccine Mandate first appeared on Mediaite.
3 months agoReports say Texas recruits ill from outbreak, which comes weeks after defense secretary made flu vaccine optionalAn influenza outbreak has reportedly sickened more than 150 recruits in training at Lackland air force base in San Antonio, Texas.The outbreak comes just weeks after the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, ended mandatory flu vaccination for the military, citing the need for bodily autonomy for servicemembers. Continue reading...
3 months agoDozens of service members at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas have fallen ill with the flu in the weeks since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rescinded the vaccine mandate, sources familiar confirmed to CBS News.
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