A conservative radio host from the US state of Tennessee who had been a vaccine sceptic until he was hospitalised from Covid-19 has died. He was 61.

Nashville radio station SuperTalk 99.7 WTN confirmed Phil Valentine’s death, AP reported.

Valentine had been a sceptic of coronavirus vaccines. But after he tested positive for Covid-19, and prior to his hospitalisation, 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.”