A conservative talk radio host from Tennessee who had been a vaccine skeptic until he was hospitalized from COVID-19 has died. He was 61.

Nashville radio station SuperTalk 99.7 WTN confirmed Phil Valentine�s death in a tweet Saturday.

Valentine had been a skeptic of coronavirus vaccines. But after he tested positive for COVID-19, and prior to his hospitalization, he told his listeners to consider, �If I get this COVID thing, do I have a chance of dying from it?� If so, he advised them to get vaccinated. He said he chose not to get vaccinated because he thought he probably wouldn�t die.

After Valentine was moved into a critical care unit, Mark Valentine said his brother regretted that �he wasn�t a more vocal advocate of the vaccination.�

�I know if he were able to tell you this, he would tell you, �Go get vaccinated. Quit worrying about the politics. Quit worrying about all the conspiracy theories,� Mark Valentine told The Tennessean on July 25.

�He regrets not being more adamant about getting the vaccine. Look at the dadgum data,� Mark Valentine said.

Phil Valentine had been a radio personality since he was 20 and became a popular conservative host by railing against a state income tax proposed by Republican then-Gov. Don Sundquist, the Tennessean reported.

The program grew into a nationally syndicated show that aired for 12 years on as many as 100 stations, according to the newspaper. At the end of the run, Valentine signed a three-year deal in 2019 that kept him on 99.7 WTN.

�Phil Valentine was a visionary for the conservative movement, and he made an enormous impact on the lives of many Tennesseans,� U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn tweeted. �My deepest condolences and prayers are with Phil�s wife, Susan, and his family. May they be comforted and surrounded by love during this difficult time.�

(AP)