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People without a roof over their heads are more vulnerable to the flu than people with homes.

That’s why nurses and student volunteers gathered Friday at Greensboro Urban Ministry’s Weaver House to give free flu shots to those who were homeless or who were there for a free meal.

“I can’t afford to get really sick, and (the shot) keeps me from getting sick and getting the flu,” said Vicki McReynolds of Greensboro, who has been homeless in the past. “I have no insurance, nothing, so (this is) absolutely a blessing.”

The shots were offered by Moses Cone Health System’s congregational nurse program, in which registered nurses work with religious congregations to help mind, body and spirit.

The nurses were joined by social-work students from UNCG and N.C. A&T.

The flu-shot effort has been going on for several years, using donated vaccine. It hit a high spot last flu season, when Cone offered the congregational-nurse program 800 free doses of vaccine it had left over, said Lelia Moore, Cone’s congregational nurse coordinator.

This year, the program received money from private donors. Friday’s effort cost about $1,300 for vaccine and supplies, Moore said.

Health professionals want vulnerable people vaccinated because the flu can become serious.

About 36,000 people nationwide die of flu or its complications each year, and another 200,000 are hospitalized, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Homeless people are particularly susceptible to flu and its complications because they typically are not getting adequate health care to begin with, Moore said.

They often also have other debilitating conditions that make them vulnerable, she said, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or asthma.

The free vaccine program targets not only homeless people but also others at special risk for the flu, such as people in immigrant and public-housing communities, and working poor people.

These people typically can’t afford the $25 to $35 a flu shot costs in this market, Moore said.

Bret Johnson, who is living in transitional housing now but had been homeless for at least 15 years previously, said he came for a shot because of chronic breathing problems.

“I get sick a lot,” he said. “Usually when I catch a cold it goes right into a deeper problem. ... I catch things real quick.”

The slight pain of a shot is worth the protection it will bring, McReynolds said.

“It hurt to get the shot in my arm, but you know it doesn’t hurt as bad as it will if I got the flu and was sick for weeks,” she said. “It’s a minute of pain for a winter of gain.”

Contact Lex Alexander at 373-7088 or lex.alexander@news-record.com

Contact Nelson Kepley at 373-7333 or nelson.kepley@news-record.com