US military races to vaccinate new recruits before flu shots expire

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Mon 29 Jun 2026 11.12 EDT
Last modified on Mon 29 Jun 2026 11.30 EDT


The US military is racing to vaccinate new recruits after a two-month halt on mandatory flu shots – but it’s a temporary reprieve, as the shots will soon expire and new doses will not be available for months. Officials will need to lean on other prevention measures to contain the growing flu outbreak at Lackland air force base in San Antonio, Texas, experts say.

The flu vaccines now being deployed across military basic training camps are set to expire on 30 June, and new doses will not arrive until August or later.

It’s possible military leaders will extend use of the vaccines beyond their expiration date, but that’s “unlikely”, said Toti Sanchez, the former deputy chief at the armed forces health surveillance division of the US Defense Health Agency. And stock of the vaccine is typically low at this time of year as manufacturers switch to making the next season’s doses.

“​​The earliest that we’ve been able to vaccinate historically has been late August or early September – certainly by the end of September – but I don’t think you can count on them being available before maybe the fourth week of August,” Sanchez said. “You just can’t change that. The manufacturing timeline is basically etched in stone,” he added.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/29/us-military-flu-shots

[sakabatou]

1. *insert drug-fueled rage tweet from RFK Jr.*

[surfered]

2. The Secretary of Defense is incompetent, just like our Commander-in-Chief.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. Does it matter if the vaccine is a little bit past the expiration date?

I don't remember any fussing about the expiration date on those C-Rations.

[hlthe2b]

4. Legally, it does. Practically (from an efficacy standpoint)--probably not, if only a few days or

even a couple of weeks-- as long as they have been stored (refrigerated) properly. But without an FDA waiver, I sincerely doubt they will administer.

[riversedge]

5. ...........he thought: "Here we are, 81 years later, and we're turning back the clock."....

Sanchez likens the conditions to “a petri dish”, and he said leaders are probably “exercising maximum expediency in vaccinating individuals that had not been vaccinated previously” before the end of June.

But about 700 new recruits arrive at Lackland every week, and flu cases are still increasing sharply.

Once the vaccine expires, officials will likely turn to other infection control practices: splitting the recruits into smaller groups for eating and showering; emphasizing handwashing and hand sanitizer. Face masks or respirators may play a role, though they are difficult to train in, and recruits can’t sleep or shower in masks.

When Sanchez heard that the mandate, which was ​​first implemented in 1945, was being overturned, he thought: “Here we are, 81 years later, and we’re turning back the clock.”.................................

[twodogsbarking]

6. Not getting vaccinated works if you want to get the flu. Is that really difficult to understand? RFKjr?

[70sEraVet]

7. The 'freedom' to die from the flu is hardly adequate compensation....

For all the other freedoms we are losing every day!

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Hegseth and RFK Jr. are pathetic.