A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 Air Force recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas, weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ended the military's long-standing requirement that troops receive annual influenza vaccines, according to defense officials cited by The New York Times.
The outbreak has hit trainees in basic military training at Lackland, the main hub for Air Force and Space Force enlisted training. Local officials confirmed that the base is dealing with a "localized influenza outbreak" among trainees, though they did not publicly provide a total. The New York Times reported that about 160 troops were sick, while ABC News put the number at 159.
