U.S. Military Ends Mandatory Flu Vaccination Requirement for Troops

Apr 22, 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announces the U.S. military will end its mandatory flu vaccination requirement for troops, reversing a policy in place since 1945 and consistently enforced since the early 1950s. The decision marks a significant departure from military immunization practices dating to George Washington's 1777 smallpox inoculation order and lessons from the 1918 pandemic that killed over 26,000 U.S. soldiers. The policy change occurs as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads the U.S. health department and the government cancels hundreds of millions in vaccine contracts with Moderna, though the company continues bird flu vaccine trials with 4,000 volunteers using international funding.

U.S. Military Ends Mandatory Flu Vaccination for Troops

▪George Washington demanded all soldiers be inoculated against smallpox in 1777.
▪The 1918 pandemic killed more than 26,000 U.S. soldiers.
▪The U.S. military has consistently required the flu vaccine since the early 1950s.
▪The U.S. military first mandated the flu vaccine in 1945.

Moderna's Bird Flu Vaccine Development Amid U.S. Funding Cuts

▪Moderna is conducting a Phase 3 trial of its H5 messenger RNA bird flu vaccine candidate mRNA-1018 with funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
▪Moderna announced that the first participants in the U.S. and U.K. had received doses of mRNA-1018 bird flu vaccine candidate.
▪Moderna's bird flu vaccine Phase 3 trial includes 4,000 volunteers across 36 trial sites.
▪3,000 of the 4,000 volunteers in Moderna's bird flu vaccine trial are located in the U.K.

Major Suicide Prevention Organizations Merge

▪The merged American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Jed Foundation organization will have an annual operating budget of around $75 million.

Perspective of Public health advocates

▪Ending mandatory flu vaccination for U.S. troops represents a departure from military immunization practices dating back to George Washington's 1777 smallpox inoculation order.
▪The U.S. military's mandatory flu vaccination policy was grounded in lessons from the 1918 pandemic that killed over 26,000 U.S. soldiers.