Hirono renews attack on Hegseth as military flu cases continue to rise

U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono slammed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for a decision he made a couple of months ago: making the flu vaccine optional for active service members. Hirono took to X to criticise the decision, claiming that the vaccine requirements were established with the health and well-being of the troops in mind. "But apparently, Hegseth doesn't care about our troop's health or military readiness," she wrote on X, claiming that there was no scientific evidence behind Hegseth's decision.

According to a report in The Hill, the U.S. Army is having to contend with a flu outbreak at the Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, as more than 220 service members were diagnosed with the disease. The number is up from around 160 last week, as was confirmed by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), whose district includes the air force base. Like Hirono, Castro had also slammed Hegseth's decision to make the flu vaccine optional, calling it "a reckless decision that put troops in harm's way and undermined our military readiness."

Hirono criticized the Secretary of Defense in a subsequent post, claiming that the administration "continues to choose culture wars, prioritizing ideology over science and facts that have kept our forces safe for decades." The outbreak has affected the 37th Training Wing at Lackland over the past three weeks, which sees more than 36,000 recruits come through the ranks each year.

Last week, the Air Force had told the publication that the 37th Training Wing was coordinating with the 59th Medical Wing, the largest such wing that the Air Force has to offer, and that it had "implemented mitigation measures to isolate and treat symptomatic trainees to reduce further exposure and continue to monitor the situation." After the number of affected service members rose to well over 200, it was said that medical professionals were going to "monitor and evaluate the situation."

The outbreak has forced the U.S. military to make exceptions to the Defense Secretary's decision to make the flu vaccine optional, as the Air Force now hopes to vaccinate all of the recruits in this recruit class and recruits arriving at the base in San Antonio, as per ABC News. The Army is also preparing to do the same when it comes to troops deploying overseas, first responders, child care workers, health care personnel, prison staff, and soldiers taking part in certain large-scale training exercises.

The flu vaccine mandate, which had been in place since 1945, was called "absurd" by the Defense Secretary. He also claimed that it weakened the U.S. Army's capability to fight wars, and that the decision to make the vaccine optional would give troops "medical autonomy" and "freedom to express their religious convictions." At the time, the Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman, Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, had called it a mistake. "When I was on active duty and a reservist, I dutifully took my flu shot every year. And as a whole, it made for a healthier," he had said.