Why the Pentagon is dropping a flu vaccine mandate

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on April 16, 2026. | Alex Wong/Getty Images This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: Hi readers — Donald Trump announced a last-minute extension to the US-Iran ceasefire on Tuesday, hours before the agreement was set to expire. It’s good news, but it doesn’t offer much clarity about what comes next: The status of negotiations remains up in the air, and Trump has said that the US blockade on Iranian ships and ports will remain in effect. We’ll have more for you on that story once we know more, but for now, here’s another Tuesday story out of the Trump administration that shouldn’t be overlooked: Pete Hegseth’s Defense Department is ending mandatory flu vaccines for soldiers. What happened? On Tuesday, Hegseth announced the end of the US military’s decades-old mandate requiring all DOD personnel to receive annual flu vaccines, which he described as “restoring freedom to our Joint Force.” The mandate was first implemented in 1945, according to the Washington Post, and has been in place continuously since the 1950s. Why the change? In a video announcement, Hegseth connected the flu vaccine mandate with a now-ended policy requiring Covid-19 vaccines for servicemembers, which he described as “denying them simple medical autonomy and the freed