Hegseth on New DOD Policy: 'We Will Not Force You'

America's troops are about to get a say in something that used to be nonnegotiable: the annual flu shot. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday said the Pentagon is ending its requirement that service members receive the influenza vaccine each year, calling the mandate "overly broad" and part of what he cast as unnecessary medical rules that "weaken our war-fighting capabilities," per the Washington Post. The shot will still be available, he said, but it will be up to individual troops to decide whether to get it. "We will not force you," Hegseth said in a video message. "Your body, your faith, and your convictions are not negotiable."

USA Today notes that the Pentagon didn't offer any more information when contacted, though an accompanying memo indicates the change will take place "effective immediately." Public health experts quickly raised red flags. Chris Meekins, a former Trump administration official who worked on pandemic preparedness, warned that the decision risks turning vaccines from a basic protection measure into "a selective convenience." He predicted no immediate crisis but described a slower grind: more flu cases, more time away from duty, higher hospitalization costs, and what he called "preventable readiness losses" across the armed forces.