Hegseth announces end to military flu vaccine requirement

War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the end of the Pentagon's long-running flu vaccine mandate for U.S. troops.

"The War Department is once again restoring freedom to our Joint Force," Hegseth announced in an X post, linking to a video statement of his signing the new policy. "We are discarding the mandatory flu vaccine requirement, effective immediately."

Hegseth said service members would no longer be forced to take the annual flu shot, and instead could decide for themselves whether it was in their best interest, casting the move as part of a broader rollback of what he called overly aggressive medical mandates imposed under the Biden administration.

"Our new policy is simple," Hegseth said. "If you, an American warrior entrusted to defend this nation, believe that the flu vaccine is in your best interest, then you are free to take it, you should."

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"But we will not force you."

The announcement appears to go further than a Pentagon policy shift disclosed last fall, when an internal memo showed the department had already begun scaling back the flu shot requirement, at least for some troops.

Hegseth framed the change as a matter of personal liberty, religious freedom and military readiness. In the video, he accused the Biden administration of forcing troops to choose "between their conscience and their country" and said that period was over under President Donald Trump.

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"In this case, this includes the universal flu vaccine and the mandate behind it," Hegseth 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."

The Pentagon had required annual flu vaccinations across the force for years, arguing that widespread immunization helped protect readiness, especially in close-quarter military settings where illness can spread quickly. A memo obtained by The Associated Press and reported in September 2025 showed the department had already softened that stance.

That memo, signed May 29 by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, said reservists would only be required to get the flu shot if they were on active duty for 30 days or more. It also said the military would no longer pay for reservists or National Guard members to get vaccinated on their own time.

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At the time, the policy change was not publicly announced, and the memo itself sent mixed signals. While it said the department would require seasonal flu vaccination "only when doing so most directly contributes to readiness," it also appeared to leave the annual requirement in place for active-duty service members.

Hegseth’s new announcement suggests the administration is now moving beyond those limited exemptions and ending the universal mandate altogether.

The move fits into a broader Trump administration effort to revisit military vaccine policy, particularly after the bitter fight over the COVID-19 vaccine. Hegseth explicitly linked the flu shot decision to that earlier controversy, saying, "You know what I’m talking about, what happened [with] COVID-19 and the vaccine. No more."

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"That era of betrayal is over," Hegseth declared.

The administration has already offered back pay to service members discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine under Biden, and has encouraged them to return to uniform.

Hegseth made clear the administration intends for the change to be a sharp break from past policy.

"Your body, your faith, and your convictions are not negotiable," he said. "It’s common sense."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.