Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the Pentagon will no longer require service members to receive annual flu vaccines, calling the mandate an "absurd, overreaching" policy. The vaccine will remain available to troops who choose to get inoculated, but it will no longer be mandatory.

The change aligns with the broader Trump administration's skepticism toward vaccine requirements. Roughly 8,700 active duty and reserve troops left the military after refusing the Covid-19 vaccine before that mandate was rescinded in 2023. As of last summer, only 13 had been reinstated.

Hegseth extended the reinstatement deadline to April 1, 2027, for troops who were discharged for refusing vaccines. The military still requires vaccinations for measles, mumps and polio, with anthrax vaccines required depending on risk and military occupation. Hegseth dismissed concerns that dropping the flu vaccine requirement would hurt military readiness, saying the new policy would pose "no threat" to preparedness.