Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced the military is ending a longstanding policy that required all service members get the flu shot.

Flu and Covid, including a new variant called BA.3.2, nicknamed “cicada,” are still circulating, along with several other respiratory illnesses and a nasty stomach bug.

Approximately 43,000 service members were killed by the influenza virus that was first identified at an Army base in Haskell County, Kansas.

The jab targets the H5N1 flu strain which has caused devastating infections in bird populations worldwide, but has yet to spread between humans.

Two influenza-related deaths were reported in Arkansas over the past week while the level of flu activity in the state remained "minimal" for the fourth consecutive week, the state Department of Health reported Wednesday.

By Rajasik Mukherjee April 23 (Reuters) - Australian biotech giant CSL extended losses on Thursday, lingering near decade lows, after the U.S. military scrapped its flu vaccine mandate, dealing another blow to the drugmaker as it grapples with a prolonged earnings slump.

The Pentagon says the flu shot is now optional for U.S. military troops, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling the mandate too broad and not rational.

Older adults across the European Union are a step closer to replacing two annual jabs with one. In late February 2026, the European Medicines Agency’s expert committee recommended approval of Moderna’s mCombriax, a single mRNA injection designed to ...