Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) said last week that he has no plans to get boosted, telling a reporter, “I’m perfectly healthy.” A few days later, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee used their official Twitter account to spread false information, asking: “If the booster shots work, why don’t they work?” The tweet was later deleted. And former president Donald Trump got booed recently after telling a crowd that he got an additional dose of the vaccines he considers great achievements of his administration…

Pate also believes some conservative leaders, such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), have fanned “hostility” to vaccines while fighting mandates, “rather than having press conferences pleading with the people of Texas, ‘Hey the vaccine is safe, I’ve had it’ … [or] role-modeling and wearing your mask and having people see you doing that.”

Said Pate: “Those are the kinds of behaviors you’d like to see from elected officials.”