The defense secretary broke with public health directives when he made the flu vaccine optional for all U.S. military personnel, both active
Curtis M. Wong at HuffPost:
The Pentagon appears to be walking back its voluntary flu vaccine policy, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth implemented this spring, after a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas reportedly impacted at least 222 recruits.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed to The Independent Tuesday that exceptions to Hegseth’s policy have been granted, noting: “The decisions were based upon thorough risk assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and force generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations.”
“The Department remains committed to the health and readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel,” he added.
Though Parnell was light on specifics, officials told ABC News Tuesday that the Army, Navy and Air Force have reinstated mandatory flu vaccinations for basic trainees. And on Wednesday, a Navy official confirmed to the military news site Task & Purpose that the flu vaccine was once again required for all those enlisted in boot camp.
“Navy recruit training currently includes the Influenza vaccine as an exception to policy approved by the Under Secretary of War,” the official said.
DUI Hire Pete Hegseth’s ill-advised decision to roll back the flu vaccine mandate has come back to bite him in the arse hard, so it was brought back as a result.
See Also:
Daily Kos: Hegseth bucked vaccine policy. How’d that turn out?
Flu vaccines are out. You don't want the flu, trust me, it sucks. If you live in the US, you can probably get a free flu shot. If you need help locating one you can check your insurance web portal or search by zip code here: https://www.vaccines.gov/en/
A free shot is a lot cheaper than having to miss work, buy OTC or prescription meds, and much cheaper than a hospital stay. And you can't spread it to someone more vulnerable if you don't catch it yourself.
Ontario is planning to allow pharmacists to prescribe flu medication, administer flu shots to babies and administer RSV vaccines, when avail
Ontario is planning to allow pharmacists to prescribe flu medication, administer flu shots to babies and administer RSV vaccines, when available, ahead of an expected fall viral surge.
The Ministry of Health is asking for feedback on new draft regulations from the Ontario College of Pharmacists, but with a short two-week comment period as the respiratory virus season looms.
The majority of the world's flu vaccines are grown in chicken eggs, but Canada-based Medicago is opting for plants for its COVID-19 vaccine. Professor Tscharke said while protein for vaccines often is grown in fermenters or vats in factories, it's possible to use a plant instead, which can be quick and inexpensive. The idea behind this one is that it contains proteins that mimic the structure of the virus, but does not contain genetic material. The vaccine is grown in a wild species indigenous to Australia and is related to tobacco, and the company is partially funded by cigarette maker Philip Morris International. The plant-based vaccine is still ultimately injected, but Professor Tscharke says the broader idea of growing vaccines on plants is another platform given a push during the pandemic.
Erin Handley, ‘Vaccines that grow on leaves and don't need needles: A look at COVID jabs you may not have heard of’, ABC
To prevent serious, sometimes deadly, diseases, National Immunization Awareness Month encourages the public to stay up-to-date on the vaccines recommended for their age group.
In support of this critical public health initiative, some of our journal editors invite you to explore a collection of articles highlighting the important topic of vaccines.
“Two Birds With One Stone: Estimating Population Vaccination Coverage from a Test-Negative Vaccine Effectiveness Case-Control Study” by Margaret K. Doll, et al. from Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID)
“Human Papillomavirus Prevalence in Unvaccinated Heterosexual Men After a National Female Vaccination Program” by Dorothy A. Machalek, et al. from The Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID)
“Vaccine Rejection and Hesitancy: A Review and Call to Action” by Tara C. Smith, PhD from Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID)
“Immunogenicity and Safety of an Inactivated Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine in US Children 6–35 Months of Age During 2013–2014: Results From A Phase II Randomized Trial” by Long Wang, et al. from Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS)
Image: Flu vaccinations make their way to U.S. Army in Europe by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District. CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.
An NPR investigation found Louisiana health officials told staff to stop promoting vaccines for COVID, flu and mpox, holding flu shot events
Rosemary Westwood at NPR:
A group of high-level managers at the Louisiana Department of Health walked into a Nov. 14 meeting in Baton Rouge expecting to talk about outreach and community events.
Instead, they were told by an assistant secretary in the department and another official that department leadership had a new policy: Advertising or otherwise promoting the COVID, influenza or mpox vaccines, an established practice there — and at most other public health entities in the U.S. — must stop.
NPR has confirmed the policy was discussed at this meeting, and at two other meetings held within the department's Office of Public Health, on Oct. 3 and Nov. 21, through interviews with four employees at the Department of Health, which employs more than 6,500 people and is the state's largest agency.
According to the employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they fear losing their jobs or other forms of retaliation, the policy would be implemented quietly and would not be put in writing.
Staffers were also told that it applies to every aspect of the health department's work: Employees could not send out press releases, give interviews, hold vaccine events, give presentations or create social media posts encouraging the public to get the vaccines. They also could not put up signs at the department's clinics that COVID, flu or mpox vaccines were available on site.
The new policy in Louisiana was implemented as some politicians have promoted false information about vaccines and as President-elect Donald Trump seeks to have anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And some public health experts are concerned that if other states follow Louisiana, the U.S. could face rising levels of disease and further erosion of trust in the nation's public health infrastructure.
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A blow to public health practice
Staff at Louisiana's health department fear the new policy undermines their efforts to protect the public, and violates the fundamental mission of public health: to prevent illness and disease by following the science.
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Experts fear consequences of undermining trust in vaccine
Last year, 652 people in Louisiana died of COVID, including five children. Louisiana currently is tied with DC for the highest rate of flu in the U.S. In 2022 alone, flu killed 586 people in Louisiana.
Every health department staff member, former staff member, public health official and vaccine expert contacted by NPR repeated the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe, effective, and essential for preventing illness, hospitalizations, and deaths.
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Policy change follows new governor's election
Until becoming Louisiana governor in early 2024, Republican Jeff Landry served as the state's attorney general for eight years. During the pandemic, he criticized the state's COVID response and filed lawsuits over federal and state vaccine mandates.
On Dec. 6, 2021, Attorney General Landry spoke at a state committee hearing against adding COVID to the childhood immunization schedule. At his side was Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who presented false claims about COVID vaccines.
This year the Republican-controlled legislature passed five bills — all signed by Gov. Landry — and two resolutions aimed at loosening vaccine requirements, limiting the power of public health authorities and sowing doubt about vaccine safety.
Gov. Landry also appointed Dr. Ralph Abraham, a family medicine doctor, to be the state's surgeon general. That position co-leads the Department of Health, and is tasked with crafting health policy that is then carried out by the departmental co-leader, the secretary.
[...]
Abraham said masking, lockdowns and vaccination requirements "were practically ineffective," that COVID vaccine adverse effects have been "suppressed," that "we don't know" whether blood from people who've been vaccinated is safe for donation and that "we hope and pray" COVID vaccines don't increase the risk miscarriages.
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A slippery slope to future disease outbreaks
Experts told NPR they feared a policy that undermines COVID, flu and mpox vaccinations could have a spillover effect, reducing public trust in vaccinations overall, including those given to children to prevent a host of dangerous and deadly illnesses.
"I believe that we will see measles cases. I believe we will see whooping cough cases. I believe we will likely see meningitis outbreaks," said Hood.
In the Nov. 14 meeting, a staff member asked whether the ban on promoting vaccines applied to children's immunizations, but the answer was noncommittal, according to an employee with knowledge of the meeting's details.
"My understanding was it's not clear to what extent we might be able to promote childhood vaccinations," the staff member said.
(The Louisiana Department of Health's statement to NPR said the changes in policy and messaging do not apply to childhood immunizations.)
Nationally, vaccination rates for serious childhood diseases have been falling in recent years, including in Louisiana.
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The rise of public health officials promoting misinformation
Louisiana isn't the only state where public health officials have recently announced controversial decisions and repeated false or discredited health theories.
Florida's surgeon general has made false claims about COVID vaccines, undermined school vaccine mandates for the measles and said local officials should stop adding fluoride to water supplies.
The consequences of anti-vaxxer extremism and anti-public health sentiments being normalized by Republicans: Louisiana bans the state's Department of Health from promoting COVID, flu, or mpox vaccines.
Reports say Texas recruits ill from outbreak, which comes weeks after defense secretary made flu vaccine optional
Jessica Glenza at The Guardian:
An 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.
“We’re seizing this moment to discard any absurd overreaching mandates that only weaken our war fighting capabilities,” said Hegseth in an April social media video. “In this case that includes the universal flu vaccine and the mandate behind it.
“Your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable,” said Hegseth.
At least 159 recruits have fallen ill, according to the New York Times and ABC News. After Hegseth made influenza shots optional, only about 40% of recruits opted to get vaccinated, air force officials told the New York Times.
About 46% of adults were vaccinated against influenza in the 2025-26 cold season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The cost of normalizing anti-vaxxer idiocy: Nearly 160 recruits at Lackland AFB fell sick with the flu. This is made possible to due to Drunkard Pete’s foolish decision to end vaccine mandates for the flu.
See Also:
MS NOW: Two months after Hegseth’s regressive move, Air Force base faces major flu outbreak
