2 days ago
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Dozens of work members astatine Lackland Air Force Base successful Texas person fallen sick with the flu successful the weeks since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rescinded the vaccine mandate, sources acquainted confirmed to CBS News.
"Over the past 3 weeks, the 37th Training Wing, successful adjacent coordination with the 59th Medical Wing, has been managing a localized influenza outbreak among trainees astatine Basic Military Training," an Air Force spokesperson told CBS News successful a statement.
The New York Times first reported on the outbreak astatine the grooming helping successful Texas.
The portion has implemented mitigation measures to isolate and dainty symptomatic trainees, according to the Air Force spokesperson, and is monitoring trainees who whitethorn person been exposed. The trainees who are symptomatic are receiving antiviral medications specified arsenic Tamiflu.
In April, Hegseth issued a memo that rescinded the decades-long mandate and said successful an accompanying video that the Pentagon was "seizing this infinitesimal to discard immoderate absurd, overreaching mandates that lone weaken our warfighting capability."
In a connection connected Thursday, Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that nether the updated guidance, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness granted exceptions to this argumentation for the departments of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Security Agency and Defense Health Agency if determination were needs to marque the vaccine mandatory.
"The decisions were based upon thorough hazard assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and unit generation, portion safeguarding at-risk populations. The Army, Navy, Air Force, NSA, and DHA are liable for implementing the ETPs," Parnell said successful the statement, referring to exceptions to policy. "The Department remains committed to the wellness and readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel."
The sources acquainted confirmed that lone astir 40% of Air Force trainees person opted to instrumentality the flu vaccine since the mandate was rescinded.
The 37th Training Wing astatine Lackland is the largest grooming helping successful the Air Force and provides the basal subject grooming of each enlisted recruits entering the Air Force, Space Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, according to an Air Force information sheet.
On Wednesday, the portion successful a merchandise said Keon McDaniel, a trainee who was successful his sixth week of basal subject training, died pursuing a aesculapian emergency. He died June 16 astatine Brooke Army Medical Center, wherever helium had been transported connected June 12 for attraction related to the emergency.
The origin of the aesculapian exigency is presently nether investigation, the merchandise said.
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