Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness

flu, Pentagon

Flu vaccine requirement discarded ‘effective immediately,’ Hegseth says

The U.S. military will no longer require service members to get an annual flu shot according to a post Tuesday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the social media platform X.

· 1d · on MSN

Pentagon revokes mandatory flu vaccine policy, calling it 'absurd'

WBIW · 12h

Pentagon ends mandatory flu vaccines for U.S. troops

· 11h

'Bizarre': Doctors Truly Can't Make Sense Of Pete Hegseth's Flu Vaccine Announcement

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that U.S. troops will no longer be required to get the flu vaccine in support of their “medical autonomy” and due to “common sense” — but doctors say t...

· 20h

Pentagon makes flu shots optional for U.S. troops

· 1d

GOP Armed Services chair warns ending mandatory military flu shots ‘a mistake’

· 1d

Pentagon ends a mandatory vaccination: ‘Restoring freedom’

“The War Department is once again restoring freedom to our Joint Force,” the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a social media post Tuesday.

· 1d

Pentagon to Stop Requiring Members of Military to Get Flu Vaccines

· 1d

Hegseth ends mandatory flu vaccine for service members

Military.com

Health Experts Weigh In on Effects of DOD's Optional Flu Vaccine Policy

The new directive issued Tuesday by Defense Secretary Hegseth is feared to have negative repercussions on military personnel in close quarters.

MedPage Today on MSN

Flu shot effective at keeping kids out of hospital

Despite reassuring vaccine effectiveness data, uptake has remained low

Medscape

Flu Vaccine Cuts Kids’ Hospitalization Risk by Up To 60%

Vaccine effectiveness was generally higher in younger children younger than 8 years, at 63% in the 2023-2024 season, than among older children (48% during the same season). Effectiveness also varied by circulating strain. Protection overall was the highest against influenza B (69%), followed by A/H1N1 (53%), and A/H3N2 (43%).

Cleveland.com

2026 flu vaccine may have been less effective than 2025, CDC analysis shows

CLEVELAND, Ohio — This season’s influenza vaccine may have been less effective than last season’s, because it was not well matched against the flu strains in circulation, according to an analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

New flu strain undermines vaccine effectiveness

NEW YORK -- As the U.S. flu season winds down, health officials say the flu vaccine wasn't very effective, with one of its worst effectiveness rates in more than a decade. A new strain that dominated the early winter was not well matched to the vaccine ...