In February 1777, Gen. George Washington faced a catastrophe.
His soldiers were dying. British muskets and bayonets were only part of the problem. The greater menace was disease — specifically smallpox, one of the deadliest scourges of the 18th century.
If Washington hoped to win independence for the colonies, he first had to keep his army alive.
The choice was clear. Washington ordered the mass inoculation of his troops against smallpox.
There was no time to dawdle. Many historians estimate that disease caused between 60% and 90% of deaths in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Battlefield casualties, by contrast, were a minority.
Tens of thousands of soldiers fell ill, and outbreaks could cripple entire units. Smallpox alone threatened the survival of the army — and, by extension, the Revolution itself.
Difficult times called for decisive leadership.
Washington did not waste time navel-gazing over “medical freedom.” He did not consult a “Freedom Caucus.” Washington was the Freedom Caucus.
Just call him vaccinator-in-chief.
On Feb. 5, 1777 (249 years ago this week), Washington wrote to Continental Congress President John Hancock and to his medical director, Dr. William Shippen Jr., ordering that “the troops shall be inoculated.”
It was a bold move. Inoculation carried risks, but Washington understood that inaction was far more dangerous.
His decision — a public health initiative, no less — may well have saved the future United States. It certainly contributed to victory.
There is a lesson here for South Carolina today: As we grapple with the spread of anti-vaccine sentiment — a trend that has contributed directly to the record-breaking measles outbreak in our state — we might ask a simple question: WWGD? What would George do?
Vaccination, including mandatory vaccination in times of crisis, has a distinguished history in our nation, stretching back to the Founding Father.
In this 250th anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence, it’s striking to recognize that vaccination against preventable disease is as much of an American tradition as freedom of speech and heroic public leadership.
That history may come as a surprise to some state senators who last year proposed banning future vaccine mandates in South Carolina, as if legislators could foresee future pandemics.
Gov. Henry McMaster rightly rejected that approach, warning that the bill would compromise the state’s ability to respond effectively to public health emergencies.
“As a general rule,” McMaster wrote, “placing overbroad restrictions on the authority of public health officials, law enforcement officers, first responders, and emergency management professionals responding to emerging threats and disasters — whether public health or otherwise — is a bad idea."
Anti-vaccine mischief
Unfortunately, that was not the only example of anti-vaccine mischief at the Statehouse last year. Even more troubling was a Senate committee’s rejection of McMaster’s nominee to lead South Carolina’s newly separate Department of Public Health, Dr. Edward Simmer, who continues in the role on an interim basis.
As a result, the agency remains without a permanent director at a moment of genuine crisis.
The measles outbreak centered in Spartanburg County has escalated into the largest outbreak the nation has seen in many years.
On Tuesday, the public health agency reported 876 total confirmed cases statewide since September.
At least 800 of those cases are among unvaccinated individuals — a stark illustration of the consequences of vaccine hesitancy.
Measles is among the most contagious diseases known to medicine. It can cause pneumonia, encephalitis — swelling of the brain that can result in permanent damage — and death, particularly among young children and people with compromised immune systems.
Before widespread vaccination, measles killed hundreds of Americans every year and hospitalized tens of thousands.
Thanks to vaccination programs in the latter half of the 20th century, measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. That historic achievement is now at risk — with South Carolina and Texas playing major roles.
The cause is declining vaccination rates.
The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is about 97% effective after two doses and has a long record of safety and effectiveness. But its success depends on widespread participation.
Public health experts agree that roughly 95% vaccination coverage is necessary to maintain herd immunity and prevent outbreaks.
When vaccination rates fall below that threshold — as they have in parts of South Carolina — measles exploits the gap, spreading through classrooms, churches, and households with painful speed.
Adults in the room
This is where state leadership becomes indispensable.
That includes gubernatorial candidates who have scarcely mentioned the measles crisis. Our next governor will need to be decisive and outspoken in responding to disinformation and protecting public health.
State leaders should double down on clear, evidence-based public health policies: reinforcing school-entry vaccination requirements and partnering with trusted local voices — pediatricians, faith leaders and community advocates — to counter misinformation.
Anti-vaccine activism has already caused serious harm in South Carolina. The state’s lower-than-average COVID vaccination rate likely contributed to South Carolina having the nation’s 10th-highest COVID death rate in 2021, the pandemic’s deadliest year.
Vaccination is not merely a personal choice. It is a collective safeguard.
George Washington understood this truth nearly 250 years ago. In a moment of national peril, he chose science, leadership and collective responsibility over hesitation and ideology.
South Carolina would do well to remember his example.
WWGD?
Paul Hyde is a longtime journalist and teacher in the Upstate. He worked 18 years for the Greenville News as a columnist, editorial writer, education reporter and arts writer. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Clemson and Harvard universities. He has written for the Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News and USA Today, among other publications. He currently is a regular contributor to the Greenville Journal, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Classical Voice North America.
More people in SC are getting vaccinated for measles, but cases continue to spread
BY: SKYLAR LAIRD - FEBRUARY 6, 2026 4:37 PM
COLUMBIA — More people are getting vaccinated for measles, even as the number of cases continues to increase, the state health department said Friday.
An outbreak centered in Spartanburg reached 920 cases Friday, the largest outbreak in the nation since measles started to spread widely last year.
One of the new cases was in Sumter County, the first reported outside the Upstate. Whether that case came directly from the outbreak or from elsewhere is unclear, state health officials said.
During January, more people got vaccinated against the virus than in any month since the outbreak started, according to the state health department.
Statewide, health professionals administered 16,800 shots of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine last month, a 72% increase over the year before. In Spartanburg County, the outbreak’s epicenter, the increase was even more significant, with 162% more vaccinations, according to the agency.
State epidemiologist Linda Bell said she hopes that shows people are taking the outbreak seriously.
“We are encouraged with the uptake in vaccinations this past month,” Bell told reporters.
Nearly 1,200 of those vaccines went to infants between the ages of six months and 11 months. That’s sooner than most children receive their first measles vaccine, which usually comes when they reach 1 year old. Moving up the schedule is recommended during an outbreak, since children are most susceptible to the disease, according to the health department.
Of the 920 cases, 243 were in children under the age of 5, according to agency data.
In an effort to quell the spread, one Democratic senator proposed requiring all students receive the measles vaccine before attending school, whether or not their parents signed a religious exemption form.
Sen. Margie Bright Matthews proposed a bill Thursday that would remove the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine from the immunizations a child can skip if they have a signed form claiming it goes against their religion. Every school-age child would have to get both doses of the vaccine between the ages of 1 and 5.
But her proposal is highly unlikely to get any traction in a state that banned public employers from mandating COVID vaccinations.
Last year, the Senate refused to confirm Gov. Henry McMaster’s nominee to lead the newly separate Department of Public Health due to accusations about his response to the pandemic that he called “outrageously false.” Dr. Edward Simmer, who senators approved nearly unanimously in February 2021 to lead the combined public health and environmental agency, remains in the role as an
The number of religious exemptions issued in the state increased significantly when students returned to school following the COVID-19 pandemic, going from less than 1% of all students during the 2014-2015 school year to more than 3.3% during the last school year.
Including medical exemptions, less than 90% of the state’s K-12 students submitted completed vaccination forms last year.
“This is serious, what we’re dealing with,” the Walterboro Democrat told senators Thursday. “If you really care about these children, let’s do something about it here.”
Matthews’ proposal received pushback from the state attorney general Friday, who said the bill went too far.
“The right to be free from compelled bodily intrusion is at the heart of the American experiment,” Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a statement. “Government should not substitute its judgment for parents, families, or individual conscience.”
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Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau.
SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
