Trump's evangelical adviser claims 'Jesus himself gave us the flu shot'

One of President Donald Trump's evangelical advisers turned heads this week after suggesting that believers do not need to get vaccinated against the flu because "Jesus himself gave us the" shot.

In a video posted online by Right Wing Watch, Gloria Copeland, who co-founded the Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Texas with her husband, can be heard urging followers not to worry about this year's deadly flu outbreak because their faith would protect them from the disease.

"Listen, partners, we don’t have a flu season," Copeland said. "And don’t receive it when somebody threatens you with, 'Everybody’s getting the flu.' We’ve already had our shot: He bore our sicknesses and carried our diseases. That's what we stand on."

She added that worshipers who don't have the flu can ward off the infection by repeatedly saying, "I’ll never have the flu. I’ll never have the flu."

"Put words, inoculate yourself with the word of God."

For followers who may have already gotten the flu, Copeland proclaimed, "Flu, I bind you off the people in the name of Jesus. Jesus himself gave us the flu shot, He redeemed us from the curse of flu."

According to the CDC, the 2017-18 flu season is already one of the most deadly ever recorded.

Flu hospitalizations have reached their highest point in nearly a decade and at least 53 pediatric deaths have already been reported.

With several more weeks left in the season, the outbreak shows no signs of slowing down.

(h/t HuffPost)