Approximately 160 recruits at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas have contracted influenza just weeks after the Pentagon scrapped its mandatory flu jab, putting Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth under intense scrutiny over the decision to relax vaccination rules.
Medical staff noted the virus moved swiftly through an Air Force Basic Military Training wing, according to The New York Times. The facility houses trainees in close quarters where they sleep on open‑bay bunk beds and eat at communal tables.
