Flu outbreak tests new Pentagon vaccine policy

A flu outbreak at a Texas Air Force Base is fueling debate over the Pentagon's decision to end the military's flu vaccine mandate. Former military health official Jose Sanchez explains the stakes. PIEN HUANG, HOST: More than 200 Air Force recruits at a Texas training base have come down with the flu. One of those trainees has died. Investigators are still trying to determine if influenza played a role. The outbreak comes just weeks after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ended the military's long-standing requirement for service members to get annual flu shots and made flu vaccines optional for troops. Here's Hegseth back in April. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PETE HEGSETH: We're seizing this moment to discard any absurd, overreaching mandates that only weaken our war-fighting capabilities. In this case, this includes the universal flu vaccine and the mandate behind it. HUANG: Since the outbreak, the Air Force has required recruits at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, to be vaccinated, as it works to stop the virus from spreading. Dr. Jose Sanchez is former deputy chief at the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center. Welcome, Dr. Sanchez. JOSE SANCHEZ: Glad to be with you. HUANG: So far, more than 200 recruits have gotten sick at Lackland. How unusual is an outbreak of this size in the military? SANCHEZ: Very unusual, from the sense that we were vaccinating, prior to April, you know, routinely 100% of our basic military recruits. …