Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the department is ending its “mandatory flu vaccine requirement, effective immediately.”
“The War Department is once again restoring freedom to our Joint Force,” Hegseth said.
“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.
“In other words, our men and women in uniform were forced to choose between their conscience and their country, even when those decisions posed no threat to our military readiness. You know what I’m talking about. What happened, COVID-19 and the vaccine. No more. That era of betrayal is over,” Hegseth continued.
“We’re seizing this moment to discard any absurd, overreaching mandates that only weaken our warfighting capabilities. In this case, this includes the universal flu vaccine and the mandate behind it,” Hegseth said.
“The notion that a flu vaccine must be mandatory for every service member everywhere in every circumstance at all times is just overly broad and not rational. Our new policy is simple. If you, an American warrior entrusted to defend this nation, believe that the flu vaccine is in your best interest, then you are free to take it. You should. But we will not force you. Because your body, your faith, and your convictions are not negotiable,” he continued.
Watch Hegseth’s full message below:
The Pentagon had required annual flu vaccinations across the force for years, arguing that widespread immunization helped protect readiness, especially in close-quarter military settings where illness can spread quickly. A memo obtained by The Associated Press and reported in September 2025 showed the department had already softened that stance.
That memo, signed May 29 by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, said reservists would only be required to get the flu shot if they were on active duty for 30 days or more. It also stated the military would no longer pay for reservists or National Guard members to get vaccinated on their own time.
At the time, the policy change was not publicly announced, and the memo itself sent mixed signals. While it said the department would require seasonal flu vaccination “only when doing so most directly contributes to readiness,” it also appeared to leave the annual requirement in place for active-duty service members.
Hegseth’s new announcement suggests the administration is now moving beyond those limited exemptions and ending the universal mandate altogether.
The move fits into a broader Trump administration effort to revisit military vaccine policy, particularly after the bitter fight over the COVID-19 vaccine.
There were a variety of responses to Hegseth’s announcement.
Hegseth’s directive does allow for the military services to request to keep the vaccine requirement in place, according to a memo enacting the policy posted online. It says the services have 15 days to make those requests.
Vaccination programs in the U.S. military date back to the American Revolution. But they became a contentious political issue during the coronavirus pandemic, when more than 8,400 troops were forced out of the military for refusing to obey the 2021 mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine. Thousands of others sought religious and medical exemptions.
Congress agreed to rescind the mandate, which the Pentagon dropped in January 2023, after roughly 99% of active duty troops in the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps had gotten the vaccine, and 98% of those in the Army. The Guard and Reserve rates are lower but generally are more than 90%.
The Trump administration then spent months crafting a policy to allow service members who refused to take the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine to reenter service with back pay. While only a tiny fraction have taken the Pentagon up on the new policy, Hegseth’s team has spent the past several months personally highlighting them.
The Pentagon stated in March that 153 service members who were separated under the COVID-19 mandate had been reinstated or “re-accessed.”
