An outbreak of flu has reportedly infected more than 150 U.S. military recruits at an airbase in Texas just weeks after U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ended compulsory vaccinations for the military.

Hegseth ended the mandate to reinstate “medical autonomy” and religious freedom for service members, he said in a late April announcement.

“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,” he said in a video posted on social media, adding that American service members are free to get the flu vaccine but will not be forced to “because your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable.”

At least 159 recruits have fallen ill, the New York Times and The Guardian reported.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 46 per cent of adults were vaccinated against the flu in the 2025-2026 season.

Lackland, which is located within Joint Base San Antonio, consists of more than 24,000 active-duty members; 10,000 Department of Defense civilians and 11,000 contractors and family members, according to its website. Many of these personnel live in communal settings, share dorms and eat in close proximity, making airborne illnesses such as the flu easy to spread.

It’s not clear if the death of a basic military trainee from the 737th Training Support Squadron on June 16 was related to the flu outbreak.

Keon McDaniel was in the sixth week of his military training when he experienced a medical emergency and was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he died, according to a press release from the 37th training wing, which is headquartered at Lackland.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of his death, the air force said.

In response to the outbreak, Lackland received a Pentagon-approved exception to its voluntary flu shot policy, a Pentagon press officer told Global News.

“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, and Defense Health Agency,” they said.

“Over the last three weeks, the 37th Training Wing, in close coordination with the 59th Medical Wing, has been managing a localized influenza outbreak among trainees at Basic Military Training,” the statement continued.

“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,” it added.

“Medical personnel are also monitoring trainees who were in close contact with sick members in case they become symptomatic. Symptomatic trainees are receiving the appropriate care with antiviral medications such as Tamiflu. Once they are cleared by medical professionals, they will return to training,” it concluded.

Hegseth’s directive allows the military services to request that the vaccine requirement remain in place, according to a memo posted online that enacts the policy. It says the services have 15 days to make those requests.

Vaccination programs in the U.S. military date back to the American Revolution. But they became a contentious political issue during the coronavirus pandemic, when more than 8,400 troops were discharged from the military for refusing to comply with the 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Thousands of others sought religious and medical exemptions.

The dropping of the flu vaccine mandate follows what health officials described as a particularly severe flu season, during which U.S. infections surged. Public health experts recommend that everyone six months and older get an annual influenza vaccine.

The Trump administration has been working to dial back vaccine recommendations. Earlier this year, it stated that it would no longer recommend flu shots and some other vaccines for all children, saying it’s a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors. A federal judge has temporarily blocked that effort as a lawsuit plays out.

— With files from The Associated Press

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