All articles tagged with #vaccine mandate
Amid a growing influenza outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base's Basic Military Training, the Pentagon is reimposing flu-shot requirements for new recruits across the Army, Navy, and Air Force; the current recruiting class will be vaccinated, and exemptions to the prior voluntary policy are expected to widen, with potential expansion of mandates to deployed troops and healthcare personnel.
After a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base sickened about 222 recruits (four hospitalizations; one death, cause unclear), the Army, Navy, and Air Force reinstated mandatory influenza vaccination for basic trainees, reversing Defense Secretary Hegseth’s earlier stance that shots were optional. The Pentagon says exemptions were reviewed to protect readiness; the Air Force plans to vaccinate all recruits at the base, and the Army may extend the policy to other groups. Only about 40% of new Air Force trainees at Lackland were vaccinated, highlighting ongoing vaccination debates in the military.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. military will no longer require all troops to get the flu vaccine, framing it as medical autonomy and religious freedom. Service members can still opt in, and individual services may request to maintain the requirement within 15 days. The move follows the end of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in 2023 and comes amid a severe flu season; the Pentagon previously reinstated or re-accessed some personnel separated under the COVID-19 mandate, but overall vaccination rates among active-duty troops had been high.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Department of Defense will make the annual influenza vaccine voluntary for all active and reserve service members and DoD civilians, ending the long-standing mandatory flu-shot policy and framing the move as restoring freedom and readiness; the change follows prior steps to scale back service-member vaccination mandates and maintains vaccination as a key readiness tool.
The Pentagon announced that active duty, reserve, and civilian U.S. military personnel will no longer be required to receive an annual flu vaccination, calling the previous mandate overly broad; the policy ends a long-standing requirement linked to readiness, with historical exemptions noted, and follows the rescission of the Covid-19 vaccine mandate, allowing discharged service members to potentially return under sworn attestations.
A federal appeals court has blocked President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees, upholding a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in January 2022. The court rejected the government's argument that courts don't have jurisdiction over pre-enforcement challenges to the mandate. The case will now proceed in district court. The mandate required all federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face disciplinary action, including termination, with limited exceptions for religious and medical reasons. Opponents of the mandate say those that requested exemptions faced hostile work environments and negative career impacts.
A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court decision to block the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees, reversing a previous ruling from a smaller panel of judges. The court ruled that a preliminary nationwide injunction on the vaccine mandate should remain in place while the case proceeds, as the case falls outside the purview of the Civil Service Reform Act. The Biden administration first issued the vaccine mandate in September 2021, ordering all federal employees to get vaccinated or face disciplinary actions, including termination.
The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has blocked President Joe Biden's order that federal employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. The ruling maintains the status quo for federal employee vaccines, upholding a preliminary injunction blocking the mandate issued by a federal judge in January 2022. The court rejected the Biden administration's argument that they have the same rights as a private corporation to mandate vaccines. The case will return to that court for further arguments, when "both sides will have to grapple with the White House's announcement that the COVID emergency will finally end on May 11, 2023."
A federal appeals court in New Orleans has blocked President Joe Biden's order that federal employees get vaccinated against COVID-19, rejecting arguments that Biden has the same authority as the CEO of a private corporation to require that employees be vaccinated. The ruling maintains the status quo for federal employee vaccines and upholds a preliminary injunction blocking the mandate issued by a federal judge in January 2022. The case will return to that court for further arguments, when both sides will have to grapple with the White House's announcement that the COVID emergency will finally end on May 11, 2023.
Governor Maura Healey of Massachusetts plans to lift the state's modified COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, in alignment with the end of the federal public health emergency. She also plans to rescind a vaccine mandate for tens of thousands of executive branch workers, which had been controversial and prompted a legal fight with the State Police Association of Massachusetts. However, some public workers in certain roles and settings will remain subject to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate due to regulations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.