The Duggars are famous for a number of reasons, not least of which is their highly conservative — and often quite controversial — views. While they have opened up about much many of their opinions, some things have been left to speculation. With a new Duggar baby on the way, some fans might be wondering whether Jinger Duggar will vaccinate her baby or what the family's stance is on the subject. Romper's request for comment regarding their views was not immediately returned. Although the family has not spoken publicly about their views on vaccination, much of what is known points to them probably opting out of booster shots.
Duggar first announced her pregnancy this past January, sharing that she and husband Jeremy Vuolo couldn't be happier about their new addition. "The past 14 months have been the best of our lives as we have had the wonderful privilege of beginning our journey through life together in marriage," she wrote in the announcement on the family's official website. "Truly, the Lord's mercies are new every morning! Now, the journey has taken an exciting turn: We are expecting our first child!"
Since the first announcement, the mama-to-be has been sharing fairly regular updates of her growing belly to Instagram, informing fans on how far along she is and comparing her growing baby girl to various fruits and veggies. Duggar and Vuolo haven't commented much on their plans for parenthood, though, and fans likely have questions. To make a guess as to whether or not the two will vaccinate their little one, one can look at the existing information about Duggar family vaccination tendencies. Spoiler alert: it doesn't look good.
The Duggar family, as a whole, has kept its views on vaccinations pretty much quiet, but there is one instance in particular that seems to suggest that they are not up to date on their shots. When Josie Duggar, who's now 8 years old, was born, she entered the world nearly three months premature, according to People. Due to her compromised immune system, she was unable to come home from the hospital immediately. The concern was reportedly that 12 of the 19 siblings had the chicken pox and would pass the disease on to the young baby, as the Daily Mail reported at the time. The fact that so many of the children had contracted the disease seems to suggest that they had not likely received the chicken pox shot.
According the state website, the family's home state of Arkansas requires children to get vaccinated against the chicken pox prior to entering kindergarten. But as the Duggars opt to homeschool their children, they would not be required to get otherwise mandatory vaccines such as poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, red (rubeola) measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (chickenpox), haemophilus influenza type b, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, meningococcal, and pneumococcal, according to In Touch Weekly.
Even if they aren't vaccinating for school, there is another reason why the Duggars would want to be on top of their shots: frequent trips abroad. Between their missions trips and leisure travel, the family has racked up stamps in their passports from places like Japan, Nepal, Greece, Jerusalem, El Salvador, and many more. Even if they are not legally required to get vaccinated before entering these countries, experts advise that it would be wise to be protected from dangerous diseases like Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever, and malaria.
If the Duggars overall do actually abstain from vaccinations, that doesn't necessarily mean that Jinger and her husband will follow suit. Of all of the siblings, Jinger is often praised for bending the rules and being the family "rebel." She has pushed the envelope with clothing choices, possible family planning, and even her choice in husband. Maybe she will blaze her own path as a mother as well and perhaps she'll share her thoughts on the matter at some point in the future.
Check out Romper's new video series, Bearing The Motherload, where disagreeing parents from different sides of an issue sit down with a mediator and talk about how to support (and not judge) each other’s parenting perspectives. New episodes air Mondays on Facebook.
