Flu sickens scores of troops at Air Force base after Pentagon ends vaccine requirement

U.S. newsFlu sickens scores of troops at Air Force base in Texas after Pentagon ends vaccine requirementThe number of sickened troops could be over 200, according to a source at the base.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Airmen at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas in 2025. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 19, 2026, 4:20 PM EDTBy Courtney Kube and Daniel ArkinU.S. airmen and Air Force trainees have fallen ill after a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, according to a spokesperson for the military branch. The number of sickened troops could be over 200, according to a source at the base.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The outbreak comes less than two months after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ended the requirement for U.S. troops to receive an annual flu vaccine. In an April video announcement, Hegseth called the mandate “absurd” and “overreaching.”“Under the disastrous Biden administration, this Pentagon waged an unrelenting war on our warriors on many fronts, including when it came to denying them simple medical autonomy and the freedom to express their religious convictions,” Hegseth said.Lackland is where Air Force enlistees go for basic military training. The sprawling facility cycles through tens of thousands of recruits every year.The New York Times was first to report the news of the outbreak.In the wake of the outbreak, the Air Force requested an exemption to Hegseth’s policy that allowed them to mandate flu vaccines at the base, according to a second person familiar with the details of the response.The base has since started vaccinating people.In a statement, an Air Force spokesperson described the outbreak as “localized” to the base’s basic training wing.“Medical professionals and public health officials have implemented mitigation measures to isolate and treat symptomatic trainees to reduce further exposure...