‘Counting On’: Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard Reveal If They Vaccinate Their Kids

Former Counting On star Jill (Duggar) Dillard and her husband, Derick Dillard, revealed they did vaccinate their children and explained why. Fans have often wondered if the Duggar family is against vaccinating their children, but the family has avoided the topic since becoming famous through their TLC shows. The Dillards’ decision to be open about the topic came after Dillard’s eye-opening interview with PEOPLE about her decision to distance herself from her family.

On Monday, the Dillards shared a Q-and-A video on their website, including an answer to a fan question about vaccinating their children. Rather than dance around the topic, they took it on. “Well, we don’t want the plague starting,” Derick, 31, said. Dillard further explained how they approach vaccinations for sons Israel, 5, and Samuel, 3.

“Yeah. So basically, yes, we do vaccinate our kids, but we do selective and delayed vaccinations,” Dillard said, notes InTouch Weekly. “We don’t want to overload their systems too much, so we want to make sure, of course, that they are well.” Dillard said the couple “also want to space them out” to tie reactions to specific shots. They last got Israel vaccinated when they traveled to Central America.

Derick was also vaccinated before going to Nepal for two years. “Both of us grew up getting all the shots that were required,” the law school student confirmed. He said they are “not against” getting vaccines to protect their family’s health. Dillard’s family was thought to be against vaccinations due to a chickenpox outbreak among her siblings in 2010, but they never openly discussed the subject. But Derick has not been shy. Last year, he told a fan on Instagram their sons were vaccinated, reports CheatSheet.

In early October, Dillard spoke about her frayed relationship with her parents in PEOPLE. She said their “control to choose what jobs we were allowed to accept and even where we were allowed to live was taken away from us” when they were still close to the Duggars. “The first few years of our marriage, we spent time and money working towards opportunities only to hit a dead end when we’d be told, ‘Well, you’re not allowed to do that.’” Dillard said their decision to distance themselves “didn’t go over very well with anyone.”

“Every family has differences of opinion and perspective at times, but families work things out,” Dillard’s parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, told PEOPLE. “We all love Jill, Derick, and their boys very much. It is our prayer that our relationship is healed and fully restored quickly!”