Navy announces new flu vaccination requirements for sailors
BLUF – The Navy updated its influenza vaccination policy by requiring annual flu vaccination for sailors in entry training, officer accession programs, deployed personnel in designated operational or host-nation requirement areas, healthcare workers with direct patient contact, and several other high-risk groups, while making the vaccine optional for most other personnel. For Navy Medicine, the policy reflects a targeted force health protection strategy that prioritizes vaccination where influenza outbreaks would pose the greatest risk to patient care, training, and operational readiness while aligning with the Defense Department’s revised immunization guidance.