Citing sequestration, the Air Force is cutting back on one of its weapons defense systems: free flu shots designed to protect its civilian employee population.
The Air Force announced this week — just as flu season approaches — that it made the decision in January not to offer flu shots this year to its civilian workers.
Last year, 12,000 Air Force civilians and their family members received free flu shots at work. Now, only military personnel and their families covered by the military health provider TRICARE will get the freebies.
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Civilian workers, meanwhile, are being directed to wellness programs to help get them connected with flu shots.
"In the past, Air Force Materiel Command has offered both the flu vaccine and wellness programs because civilian health and wellness is an important factor that supports our command mission," said Col. James King, AFMC command surgeon. "Unfortunately, limited resources required us to prioritize and ultimately fund broader health programs that provide more resources for the total health of our civilian workforce."
In other words, the Air Force was forced to de-fund the civilian component of the shot program.
It's not like the Air Force is getting rid of a long-standing perk for civilian workers. The free shot policy was extended to civilians only two years ago. Now, the best the Air Force can do is steer workers elsewhere with some sage advice from Col. King.
"Getting a flu shot is the best way to help prevent influenza," King is quoted as saying in a statement from the Air Force. "Early immunization is key to protecting yourself and your family members, so we encourage everyone to get vaccinated."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
