Deployed and deploying service members are among the priority groups to receive flu vaccine, Defense
Department officials said Oct. 13. Troops deployed to the U.S. Central Command theater of operations
and to South Korea are DoD’s highest priority, and the department already has shipped vaccine to those
theaters, officials noted. High-risk beneficiaries who will receive priority on the flu shots are:
children ages 6 to 23 months, adults older than 65, all pregnant women, women caring for children
younger than 6 months old, health-care workers and anyone with underlying health conditions. Healthy
service members who are not scheduled for deployment will be deferred from receiving the vaccination
until the more critical categories receive their shots, officials said. Flu vaccinations are normally
mandatory for all service members, but the vaccine is limited this year because British regulators
halted production by Chiron, the main supplier, located in Britain.
