Grace Copeland, an advisor on President Trump's evangelical advisory board, recently shared her own helpful tip on dealing with the current flu epidemic: skipping the shot and just believing in God, according to Bustle. In a video posted on the Right Wing Watch Blog YouTube channel, Copeland insisted that "we don't have a flu season," adding, "don’t receive it when somebody threatens you with ‘everybody’s getting the flu!'"
It's unclear what she means by "threatens"—that people who warn you about the flu are trying to put a hex on you? That just the idea of the flu is contagious? I won't even try to make sense out of that statement.
As a member of the President's advisory board, formed in early 2016 to help tackle issues that matter to various Christian denominations, it's quite possible her ideas about the flu season could make it to him. The video has been making the rounds for a few days but is now in the forefront as more started to draw the connection between Copeland and the White House. "We've already had our shot," she says in the video. "He bore our sicknesses and carried our diseases, that's what we stand on. And by his stripes, we were healed."
Despite her divine advice, the current flu season has actually been America's worst in the last decade, with most states around the county reporting a widespread outbreak of the contagious respiratory illness, and reporting more flu-related deaths than years past. This year so far alone, 53 children have died from flu-related complications, and the CDC has officially declared a nationwide flu epidemic that hasn't even hit its peak yet.
Copeland offered a quick prayer for people already suffering from symptoms of the flu, before reiterating that the flu shot is unnecessary. "Jesus himself gave us the flu shot. He redeemed us from the curse of flu." She also suggested using positive affirmations to help safeguard you from the flu instead of, you know, legitimate medical treatment. "Just keep saying, 'I will never have the flu.' Inoculate yourself with the word of God,” said Copeland.
Speculations around the dangers of the flu shot have always been around, from the vaccine causing the illness itself to its (now debunked) link to autism in children, and Copeland's proclamations are just as dangerous because of her proximity to the highest seat in the country. Hopefully, the President ignores this one as fake news, too.
