Pentagon makes flu shot optional for troops

WASHINGTON —

The Pentagon has announced that flu vaccinations are now optional for military personnel, effective immediately.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the vaccine mandate overly broad and irrational on Tuesday, saying it only weakens the country's war-fighting capabilities.

The military's first flu vaccine mandate was introduced in 1945. It was withdrawn in 1949 but later reinstated in the early 1950s.

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