Flu outbreak at Lackland AFB after vaccine mandate lifted
At Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio about 160 trainees contracted influenza and one trainee died, less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in April made the flu vaccine optional for service members. Only roughly 40 percent of recruits had been vaccinated, the outbreak spread rapidly through the base's Military Training wing where recruits live and eat in close quarters, and the Air Force subsequently required vaccinations for recruits at Lackland to curb transmission. The outbreak matters because it pulled dozens of trainees out of basic training, highlights the contagion risks of congregate military settings, and poses immediate questions about force health and operational readiness.
An influenza outbreak has reportedly sickened more than 150 recruits in training at Lackland air force base in San Antonio, Texas. (cont.) www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...?
RoseMarie30The 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. (cont.)
RV Nomad5Nothing says military readiness like everybody in bed sick with the flu. Department of war, what a genius this man is.
Lawyerlen3Great tactical move to not require vaccines. Almost as good as ignoring strait of Hormuz before the war
💙🏳️🌈 Goldie (aka Kh’ymm) 🏳️🌈💙3My son had a slew of vaccines when he went to bootcamp. Even with that he was sick with viruses nearly the entire 10 weeks. There were nearly 1,200 sailors bunked together, training together, & w/o the vaccines, I can’t even imagine! I have so much more to say on this. FFS
ToWhom ItMayConcern3If only there were some way to prevent such hits to our troops' readiness and general health. 🤔
barbarabgood.bsky.social2This regime sucks and is vastly incompetent.
Historical note: General George Washington instituted MANDATORY vaccinations for all members of the military during the Revolutionary War. It was never about "woke" (whatever that means) and was always about maintaining force readiness. Hegseth is too incompetent to understand that.
The Hate Won’t Win. #IAmAmerica 🇺🇸8Flu killed more Americans in 1917 than were killed in combat. But folks who don’t read history don’t know stuff like that…
lesliead717.bsky.social2who could have possibly seen this coming
Captain Magic 🇳🇱🇺🇸2According to some reports, one died at the affected facility.
@steve sternberg2Also worth noting that it was a British newspaper, the Guardian, that broke this story
@steve sternberg2Historical addendum: Each year, going back decades, I volunteer for a flu shot. Quadrivalent if I can get it.
Renee Cascada🥄2Guardian headline should include that one serviceman died from this damn outbreak.
🆘 Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX, 160 troops fall ill to the flu. Last year, Hegseth declared that the flu vaccine was optional. #CluelessSecWar www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/u...
Gayle Dourn Plantz7How can you be ready for service as a unit with this many people ill? Stupid regime.
Larry Mitchell6MAGA's nothing more than that one dipshit kid with the unapproved science project that goes so badly & predictably off-course that it gets the police & fire departments, ambulances & the EPA all called out to assess the school that's now just a blackened smoldering crater.
jbshakerman.bsky.social4Note to GOP: RINO really means Reality Is Not Optional
Thomas Boyd3Nothing like maintaining an effective fighting force...
