Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my 30s never have gotten the flu shot and I've never once had the flu.

You can't force her

Yes I can actually, until she's 18 I can.

You need to dial it back OP. Were you hoping one of us would tell you, "Yeah, go ahead and strap her down!" Or cut off her cell phone until she does it!" If you hope to have any kind of relationship with her, stand down on this one. My hunch is that you might be controlling and shrill in other ways, and your daughter is exerting her control whenever and however she can. Again, stand down. This isn't the parent you want to be.

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my 30s never have gotten the flu shot and I've never once had the flu.

You can't force her

Yes I can actually, until she's 18 I can.

I'm in my 30s never have gotten the flu shot and I've never once had the flu.

You can't force her

Let it go.

When I was 18 I got the flu so bad I ended up with pneumonia, sepsis, 2 weeks in the ICU, and lifelong lung complications. I had never had the flu before then (I don't think) and back then the flu shot didn't exist. Anyhow, since then I've had the flu probably 8 times, none have been as bad as that (now I know what the signs are of pneumonia and watch for them). I have only gotten the flu shot once (last year).

I would let her decide, she researched it. Let her live with her decision. She may by now have a healthy enough immune system to fend it off. If not, you can say a big fat "I told you so" and keep her away from anyone who might catch it. (btw my husband is immune compromised, as in he may die from the flu and was in a hospital from it once for 2 weeks, but for someone normal...it'll just be riding the couch)

If she doesn't have younger siblings or aged grandparents I say it's her body let her be. We all learn in time.

The data from this year in particular shows it is much worse than normal for adults in their 20s-50s. Normally it's most fatal for infants and elderly; this year is not following that trend. Maybe that would help sway her?

OP here,

She has researched both sides of the argument, and this is what she is settling on apparently.

Yeah, it'll suck if she gets sick, but I'm not sure there's that much of a concern of an otherwise healthy young adult getting the flu. I agree with your husband that you can't force her.

She a minor still so you could take her to the doctor and make her get it BUT I think you just have to let it go. If she gets the flu she will be sick and learn her lesson.

I'd try to make the argument that she is endangering people who don't have her excellent immune system (see the other thread about flu shots decreasing the spread of the flu). I'd try to get her to read an article or two about otherwise healthy people who have died of the flu. And then I'd back off and let her be.

I didn't get my first flu shot until I was in my late thirties. And then I got the flu. I haven't missed it since.

Do people die from the flu? Yes, but they are typically in their 80s.

Let it go.

Show her the data on immunizations and heart disease.

The flu gets everyone at some point. Luck is not a strategy, and the long term affect of the flu appears to be an increased rate of heart disease.

She is 17, 18 next month. She says that her body can naturally fend off illnesses. Says she doesn't "believe in it". She refused to get the shot for the past 2 years and says that she feels healthier. In all fairness she has not gotten so much as a cold since then. DH says we can't force her to get one. WWYD?