‘I had to step up’: Springfield nurse gets coronavirus vaccine during DeWine update

“I’ve been a nurse and I’ve been on the frontlines so I just didn’t want to inadvertently cause someone else to get it when I can vaccinate myself,” she said. “I just completed a nurse practitioner program and I feel like I’m a strong vaccine advocate so I had to step up.”

Gardner said that anyone who is skeptical about the vaccine should talk to their doctor.

“My primary care doctor is Dr. Michael McKee here in Springfield,” she said. “He was excited about the vaccine and I don’t think that I would have even as a health care professional had the nerve to get it if I hadn’t sat and talked with my doctor and really felt his enthusiasm for it.”

Gardner also said that the vaccine didn’t hurt and that she felt fine.