More than 160 troops contract flu at Texas base after Hegseth lifts vaccine order

Defense More than 160 troops contract flu at Texas base after Hegseth lifts vaccine order Comments: by Filip Timotija - 06/19/26 2:09 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Filip Timotija - 06/19/26 2:09 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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More 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 37th Training Wing, which is at Lackland in San Antonio, is in “close” coordination with the 59th Medical Wing, the Air Force’s largest medical wing and is “managing a localized influenza outbreak among trainees at Basic Military Training.”

“Medical professionals and Public Health officials have implemented mitigation measures to isolate and treat symptomatic trainees to reduce further exposure and continue to monitor the situation,” an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement. “Medical personnel are also monitoring trainees who were in close contact with sick members in case they become symptomatic.”

Symptomatic trainees are receiving “appropriate care with antiviral medications such as Tamiflu,” and they will return to training once medical professionals clear them, the spokesperson said.

Each year, more than 36,000 recruits come through the 37th Training Wing.

Keon McDaniel, who was in his sixth week of basic military training from the 737th Training Support Squadron, experienced a medical emergency and died earlier this week at the Brooke Army Medical Center, the Air Force said.

The cause of the medical emergency is under investigation, and a “comprehensive” medical review is underway, according to the Air Force.

The outbreak was first reported by The New York Times.

The Pentagon ended the mandatory flu vaccines for service members in April, Hegseth announced, arguing the changes are giving troops “medical autonomy” and “freedom to express their religious convictions.”

“Our new policy is simple. If you, an American warrior entrusted to defend this nation, believe that the flu vaccine is in your best interest, then you’re free to take it. You should. But we will not force you. Because your body, your faith are not negotiable,” the Defense secretary said at the time.

The new rule went further than the Pentagon’s policy from last year, which had flu shot exemptions for reservists and said the vaccine was only necessary in some circumstances for all members of the armed forces.

Hegseth characterized the flu shot mandate as “absurd, overreaching mandates that only weaken our warfighting capabilities.”

“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,” the Pentagon said.

The new rule was criticized by lawmakers, including the chair of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who called ending the requirement a “mistake.”

Wicker said in April that the flu vaccine has been shown to be safe, drawing a contrast with the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I don’t equate them with COVID shots, which were largely experimental and had not stood the test of time,” Wicker told reporters.

“When I was on active duty and a reservist, I dutifully took my flu shot every year. And as a whole, it made for a healthier” armed forces, he said.

When asked if ending the requirement for universal flu shots would affect military readiness, Wicker said, “Marginally.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), whose district includes western San Antonio, slammed Hegseth for the flu shot rule change.

“After Secretary Hegseth scrapped the military’s flu vaccine mandate, it was only a matter of time before an outbreak occurred. It was a reckless decision that put troops in harm’s way and undermined our military readiness. At the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, nearly 160 servicemembers are now ill,” Castro said in a statement on Thursday.

Castro said that he is “especially concerned” by the death of McDaniel and that his office has requested that the Pentagon provide a full “accounting of the outbreak and investigate the circumstances of the trainee’s death.”

“For the wellbeing of our servicemembers and community, public health policies must be guided by science, not politics,” he said.

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon chief spokesperson, said Hegseth issued updated guidance on the flu vaccination, saying taking the shot was voluntary for all active, reserve and Pentagon civilian personnel and directed Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, to “consolidate all requested exceptions to the policy.”

“Following a comprehensive review of these requests, and in line with standard Department of War practice for adapting force health protection measures to critical operational realities, the USW(P&R) granted ETPs for the Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Force, National Security Agency [NSA], and Defense Health Agency [DHA],” Parnell said in a statement.

Parnell said the decisions were based on “thorough” risk assessments and were designed to “maximize operational readiness, lethality and force generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations,” adding the Army, Air Force, Navy, NSA and DHA are “responsible for implementing the ETPs.”

The Pentagon “remains committed to the health and readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel,” he said.

Vaccine requirements have been a focus during the current administration. The Pentagon has offered back pay and an opportunity to rejoin the military for the thousands of veterans discharged from the military for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine during the previous administration.

More than 8,000 service members were separated from the military for not complying with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate at the Pentagon.

Trump called for allowing those service members to enlist in a January executive order.