A major change concerning the US military has been implemented. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed in a video how bad it was to make it mandatory for those brave men and women to get flu vaccines. Under former President Joe Biden, influenza inoculation was among the mandatory shots that all military personnel had to take.
Pete is trying to simplify this mandate by making changes that he believes will best serve the troops.
American service members no longer need to get a yearly flu shot
If you’re in the US military, getting a flu vaccine is now entirely your call. In a statement made at the Pentagon, Pete said that the previously mandated vaccine was “overly broad and not rational.” The new policy gives the American military the option to take the flu vaccine or not. The Defense Secretary called the previous mandate “absurd.”
According to Pete, the old ways violated service members’ rights. He adds that the US military has a long history of vaccination dating back to the country’s early days. All Continental Army soldiers previously had to be inoculated from smallpox under former President George Washington. The disease was eradicated in 1980. While many don’t believe it’s as strong, influenza has had some deadly effects on American combat effectiveness in the past.
There appears to be sweeping changes in the health sector or at least attempts to do so. In March, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a vaccine recommendation blocked.
During World War I, the 1918 influenza pandemic brought down an estimated 45,000 American soldiers. By all accounts, the vaccine mandates for service members under the Biden administration were largely uncontroversial. Donald Trump began his second term last year. His administration has undermined longstanding federal policies. It’s all part of what officials call the Make America Healthy Again movement.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK FEWER MILITARY PERSONNEL WILL GET VACCINATED UNDER THIS NEW POLICY?
