Pete Hegseth says the U.S. military will no longer require flu shots - BERITAJA

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the U.S. subject will nary longer require each American troops to get the flu vaccine, citing “medical autonomy” and belief freedom.

“The conception that a flu vaccine must beryllium mandatory for each work member, everywhere, successful each condition astatine each times is conscionable overly wide and not rational,” Hegseth said successful a video posted connected societal media.

He said American work members are free to get the flu vaccine but will not beryllium forced to “because your body, your religion and your convictions are not negotiable.”

Hegseth’s directive does let for the subject services to petition to support the vaccine request successful place, according to a memo enacting the argumentation posted online. It says the services person 15 days to make those requests.

Vaccination programs successful the U.S. subject day backmost to the American Revolution. But they became a contentious governmental rumor during the coronavirus pandemic, erstwhile much than 8,400 troops were forced retired of the subject for refusing to obey the 2021 instruction for the COVID-19 vaccine. Thousands of others sought belief and aesculapian exemptions.

Congress agreed to rescind the mandate, which the Pentagon dropped successful January 2023, aft about 99% of progressive work troops successful the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps had gotten the vaccine, and 98% of those successful the Army. The Guard and Reserve rates are little but mostly are much than 90%.

The Trump management past spent months crafting a argumentation to let work members who refused to return the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine to reenter work pinch backmost pay. While only a mini fraction person taken the Pentagon up connected the caller policy, Hegseth’s squad has spent the past respective months personally highlighting them.

The Pentagon stated successful March that 153 work members who were separated nether the COVID-19 instruction had been reinstated aliases “re-accessed.”

The dropping of the flu vaccine instruction follows what wellness officials said was a peculiarly terrible flu play erstwhile U.S. infections surged. Public wellness experts urge that everyone 6 months and older get an yearly influenza vaccine.

The Trump management has been moving to dial backmost vaccine recommendations. It stated earlier this twelvemonth that it will no longer recommend flu shots and immoderate different types of vaccines for each children, saying it’s a determination parents and patients should make successful consultation pinch their doctors. A national judge has temporarily blocked that effort arsenic a suit plays out.

The Congressional Research Service listed 8 mandatory vaccines for work members successful a 2021 report. They included vaccines for the flu, polio and tetanus arsenic good arsenic the bales and hepatitis A and B.

Service members could petition to opt retired of a vaccine request for belief reasons, the study stated. But the portion commandant was required to activity input from aesculapian and belief representatives, while besides counseling the work personnel connected the imaginable effect connected their expertise to deploy. A subject expert besides had to counsel the work personnel connected the benefits and risks of forgoing a required vaccination.

The Congressional Research Service noted that the military instituted its first vaccination programme successful 1777 erstwhile Gen. George Washington directed the inoculation of the Continental Army to protect unit from smallpox.