Top Trump adviser: 'You don't need flu shots when you have Jesus'

A controversial minister who serves on President Donald Trump's evangelical advisory board has said that belief in Jesus Christ is a viable alternative to flu shots, urging people: "Inoculate yourself with the word of God."

Gloria Copeland also attempted to discredit the idea that there's even a flu season, despite widespread campaigns from health officials to combat illness during the winter months.

The 75-year-old founded the Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Texas with her husband, who sits on the board alongside her.

"Well, listen, partners, we don't have a flu season," Copeland said in a video clip posted to the Facebook page of one of Copeland's churches (via Right Wing Watch).

"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."

Copeland prayed for those who already have the flu, saying: "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.

She then said that the best way for people to protect themselves from the illness is to declare: "I'll never have the flu."

The latest findings from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that in the fourth week of January cases of influenza increased in the United States, with 51.4 reported cases of people being hospitalised with the flu per 100,000 people.

Regarding flu vaccinations, the CDC says: "An annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to reduce your risk of getting sick with seasonal flu and spreading it to others. When more people get vaccinated against the flu, less flu can spread through that community."

The public health body recommends that everyone over the age of six months should get vaccinated.

This isn't the first time Gloria Copeland has commented on health issues. In 2016, on the Kenneth Copeland Ministries website, she shared a seven-step guide to "get healed from cancer", which suggest prayer and promoted alternative medicines.