Pete Hegseth cancels ‘absurd’ flu vaccine requirement for ‘brave warriors’ in military

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsPete Hegseth cancels ‘absurd’ flu vaccine requirement for ‘brave warriors’ in militaryHegseth described his latest directive as ‘restoring’ what he called ‘simple medical autonomy’ in response to the Biden administration’s Covid-19 policiesAndrew Feinberg in Washington, D.C. Tuesday 21 April 2026 15:18 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2961944","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/military-flu-vaccine-requirement-hegseth-b2961944.html","title":"Hegseth cancels ‘absurd’ flu vaccine requirement for ‘brave warriors’ in military"}}(Getty)Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_INSIDE_WASHINGTON","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideWashingtonNews","regSourceSection":"US politics","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClimate":false}A...