Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on April 22 said he supported the U.S. military’s ending its mandate for influenza vaccination.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the end of the decades-long mandate on Tuesday.
“Secretary Hegseth was just recognizing that these soldiers are being sent over to fight for our freedoms and that they should have some freedoms, too,” Kennedy told a Senate committee in Washington.
He also said that the flu shot “is often ineffective,” with 20 percent effectiveness, and that there are studies showing that people who receive a shot are more prone to non-influenza infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the vaccine was 36 percent effective in late 2025 and early 2026. The effectiveness has ranged from 19 percent to 60 percent since 2009, according to the agency, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)….