Sen. Ron Johnson is a Republican from Wisconsin who refused to take a COVID-19 vaccine. He is now questioning the need for the American population to get mass vaccinated. He is also going against his party line. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had encouraged all Republican men to take the vaccine when it is their turn to do so. On Thursday, former president Donald Trump told the New York Post that he was “all in favor” of the vaccine. Ivanka Trump recently posted pictures of her getting vaccinated in Miami, Florida on social media.

In an appearance on Vicki McKenna’s show, Johnson questioned the push to make sure that everyone got a vaccine. He told the conservative show hostess that he was “highly suspicious” of the mass vaccine efforts. Scientists have been saying that the level of herd immunity has increased due to new variants of the coronavirus. The vaccine hesitancy is making the goal of achieving herd immunity much slower than necessary though the nation has huge stockpiles of vaccines.

Johnson has not accepted scientific theories or information disseminated by federal health authorities. He said that he would not get vaccinated as he had already recovered from COVID-19. However, scientists believe that there is insufficient data about how long immunity lasts, after a person recovers from the disease. The CDC has also said that there is insufficient data about how long immunity lasts, after a person contracts coronavirus.

According to the New York Times, the Wisconsin Senator spent a lot of time pursuing conspiracy theories about the danger of the coronavirus several months ago and brought in doctors who represent fringe theories to explain his views.

Now, he is going after the vaccines and may just increase the number of Republicans who are hesitant about taking the vaccines. Republicans represent the largest percentage of Americans who are still hesitating to get vaccinated. Senator Ron Johnson is up for reelection in 2022 but has not as yet indicated whether he will run.