2026年6月18日 / 美国东部时间下午5:54 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
据知情人士向哥伦比亚广播公司新闻证实，在国防部长皮特·赫格斯瑟取消疫苗强制令后的数周内，得克萨斯州拉克兰空军基地已有数十名军人感染流感。
美国空军发言人在一份声明中对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻表示：“过去三周来，第37训练联队与第59医疗联队密切协作，正在处理基础军事训练学员中出现的局部流感暴发情况。”
《纽约时报》最先报道了该得克萨斯州训练联队的此次暴发事件。
据空军发言人介绍，该部队已采取缓解措施，对出现症状的学员进行隔离和治疗，并对可能接触过病毒的学员进行监测。出现症状的学员正在接受达菲等抗病毒药物治疗。
今年4月，赫格斯瑟发布备忘录，废除了实施数十年的疫苗强制令，并在附带视频中表示，五角大楼正“抓住这一契机，摒弃那些只会削弱我们作战能力的荒谬、过度的强制要求”。
五角大楼首席发言人肖恩·帕内在周四的一份声明中表示，根据更新后的指导方针，国防部负责人事与战备的副部长可在陆军、海军、空军、国家安全局和国防卫生总署有强制接种疫苗需求的情况下，为这些部门批准政策例外。
帕内在声明中谈及政策例外情况时表示：“这些决定是基于全面的风险评估做出的，旨在最大限度提升作战准备状态、杀伤力和部队生成能力，同时保护高危人群。陆军、海军、空军、国家安全局和国防卫生总署负责实施这些政策例外。”“国防部仍致力于保障我们的作战人员和文职人员的健康与战备状态。”
知情人士证实，自疫苗强制令取消以来，仅有约40%的空军学员选择接种流感疫苗。
根据美国空军的情况介绍单，拉克兰基地的第37训练联队是空军规模最大的训练联队，负责为所有加入空军、太空军、空军后备队和空军国民警卫队的应征新兵提供基础军事训练。
该部队周三在一份新闻稿中表示，正在接受基础军事训练第六周的学员基恩·麦克丹尼尔在突发急症后死亡。他于6月16日在布鲁克陆军医疗中心去世，该中心于6月12日接收他进行急症相关治疗。
声明称，目前正在调查此次急症的起因。
Air Force unit in Texas faces flu outbreak weeks after vaccine requirement dropped
June 18, 2026 / 5:54 PM EDT / CBS News
Dozens of service members at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas have fallen ill with the flu in the weeks since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rescinded the vaccine mandate, sources familiar confirmed to CBS News.
“Over the last three weeks, the 37th Training Wing, in close coordination with the 59th Medical Wing, has been managing a localized influenza outbreak among trainees at Basic Military Training,” an Air Force spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.
The New York Times first reported on the outbreak at the training wing in Texas.
The unit has implemented mitigation measures to isolate and treat symptomatic trainees, according to the Air Force spokesperson, and is monitoring trainees who may have been exposed. The trainees who are symptomatic are receiving antiviral medications such as Tamiflu.
In April, Hegseth issued a memo that rescinded the decades-long mandate and said in an accompanying video that the Pentagon was “seizing this moment to discard any absurd, overreaching mandates that only weaken our warfighting capability.”
In a statement on Thursday, Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that under the updated guidance, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness granted exceptions to this policy for the departments of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Security Agency and Defense Health Agency if there were needs to make the vaccine mandatory.
“The decisions were based upon thorough risk assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and force generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations. The Army, Navy, Air Force, NSA, and DHA are responsible for implementing the ETPs,” Parnell said in the statement, referring to exceptions to policy. “The Department remains committed to the health and readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel.”
The sources familiar confirmed that only about 40% of Air Force trainees have opted to take the flu vaccine since the mandate was rescinded.
The 37th Training Wing at Lackland is the largest training wing in the Air Force and provides the basic military training of all enlisted recruits entering the Air Force, Space Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
On Wednesday, the unit in a release said Keon McDaniel, a trainee who was in his sixth week of basic military training, died following a medical emergency. He died June 16 at Brooke Army Medical Center, where he had been transported on June 12 for care related to the emergency.
The cause of the medical emergency is currently under investigation, the release said.
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