The Air Force restored the annual influenza vaccine mandate for select personnel once again, following the service’s exception request from the Pentagon’s optional policy.
The flu vaccine is a requirement for all active duty, reserve components and civilian personnel of the Department of the Air Force that fall under certain designated categories, according to a memo signed last week by the Assistant Secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Richard Anderson.
For those required to vaccinate, the department lists recruits, training populations and congregate living; rapid deployment forces and “no-fail” missions; deployed forces; healthcare personnel; civilian personnel in child services programs; and Air Mobility Command aircrew in support of transportation taskings and en route care as well as executive airlift personnel.
“While the influenza vaccination is voluntary for the broader military and civilian populations, the annual vaccination remains a readiness requirement for Airmen and Guardians, as well as designated civilian personnel, within the following six specific categories,” an attachment to the memo reads.
Failure to comply with the requirement as a service member within the designated populations can result in administrative or disciplinary action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the memo says.
Effective immediately, recruits, healthcare and child center personnel are required to be vaccinated, while deploying forces will adhere to pre-deployment timelines, per the guidance. Other personnel included in the policy must be vaccinated no later than Dec. 15 annually.
The memo first circulated on social media on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed its authenticity to Military Times.
Both military and civilian personnel can submit religious accommodation and medical exemption requests. If requests are denied, personnel have an opportunity to comply with the vaccination requirements.
The updated guidance comes six months after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth scrapped the flu vaccine requirement, calling it “overly broad and not rational,” and instead opted to make it optional. Two months later, nearly 300 trainees at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, contracted the flu, resulting in four hospitalizations and one death.
Following the Pentagon’s optional policy, military services expressed the desire for exemptions. The Under Secretary of Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata granted the exceptions to policy, or ETPs, to the Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Force, National Security Agency and Defense Health Agency.
Since the Marine Corps and Space Force are under the Department of the Navy and Department of the Air Force, respectively, they are also included in the policy exceptions.
Although the Air Force initially declined to say when the ETP was granted, the recent memo lists June 11, during the time there was the localized outbreak at Lackland.
“The DAF requested an exemption to the voluntary policy to protect mission-critical and high-risk populations,” the memo’s attachment says. “The mandatory vaccination for these select groups [is] deemed essential to preserve force readiness, prevent illness, minimize lost duty days, and ensure the successful execution of DAF missions.”
Service members and civilian personnel who are deployed for longer than 30 consecutive days to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility are required to get the annual flu vaccine as well, according to a separate memo circulating on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page, signed by Tata late last month.
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