The United States Department of Defense has once again made influenza vaccinations mandatory for recruits in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. This decision follows a serious outbreak of the virus at Lackland Air Force Base.

美國國防部再次要求陸軍、海軍及空軍的新兵必須接種流感疫苗。此決定是在拉克蘭空軍基地發生嚴重病毒爆發後做出的。

This change follows a directive from April 21 by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had previously made the vaccine optional. He argued that recruits should have medical autonomy and religious freedom, calling previous mandates unnecessary. However, this disrupted a long-standing protocol from 1945, which was created after the 1918 pandemic killed about 45,000 American soldiers. Historically, the US military has used mandatory vaccines to protect its forces, a practice that began as early as 1777 with General George Washington.

這次變更遵循國防部長 Pete Hegseth 於 4 月 21 日發出的指令，他先前將疫苗改為自願接種。他主張新兵應享有醫療自主權與宗教自由，並稱先前的強制令是不必要的。然而，這擾亂了自 1945 年起的一項長期協議，該協議是在 1918 年大流行導致約 45,000 名美國士兵死亡後制定的。從歷史上看，美國軍隊一直使用強制疫苗來保護其部隊，此做法早在 1777 年喬治華盛頓將軍時期就已開始。

Recent events at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas showed the dangers of removing these mandates. Reports show that between 222 and 275 recruits caught the virus, leading to four hospitalizations and one death, although the cause of death is not yet confirmed. Data indicates that vaccination rates dropped to around 40% after the April policy change. Experts believe the rapid spread was caused by high-density housing, shared facilities, and a lack of sleep among recruits.

德州拉克蘭空軍基地的近期事件顯示了取消這些強制令的危險性。報告顯示，有 222 至 275 名新兵感染了病毒，導致 4 人住院及 1 人死亡，儘管死因尚未確認。數據指出，在 4 月政策變更後，接種率下降至 40% 左右。專家認為，快速傳播是由於高密度住房、共用設施以及新兵睡眠不足所導致。

Despite the timing of the outbreak, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell emphasized that the decision to bring back mandates was based on a full risk assessment rather than just the Lackland incident. He stated that these rules are necessary to maintain the military's operational readiness. Furthermore, the Army and Navy are now looking to extend these vaccine requirements to healthcare workers, childcare providers, and personnel who are preparing for deployment overseas.

儘管爆發時機敏感，但五角大廈發言人 Sean Parnell 強調，恢復強制令的決定是基於全面的風險評估，而非僅僅是因為拉克蘭事件。他表示，這些規定對於維持軍隊的作戰準備狀態是必要的。此外，陸軍和海軍目前正尋求將這些疫苗要求擴展至醫療工作人員、兒童照顧者以及準備海外部署的人員。

The US military has returned to mandatory vaccinations for basic trainees to stop the spread of the flu and ensure the military remains strong and ready.

美國軍隊恢復對基礎訓練員的強制接種疫苗，旨在阻止流感傳播，確保軍隊保持強大且準備就緒。