With California quickly reopening, and businesses increasingly requiring proof of vaccines from employees and customers, it’s time to remember where you stashed your precious COVID-19 vaccination card. It could soon become like a second ticket required for sporting events, international travel and a return to some semblance of normalcy. So what happens if you lost it — or the dog ate it — or maybe you never got a card in the first place? Now what?
Here’s what you need to know about how to get a new vaccine card, where to store it and more.
Q: I lost my vaccine card. Can I get a new one?
A: Yes, don’t panic. You can get another card or something just as good (we’ll explain in a second). That little white piece of paper they handed you is important, but it’s not the only record of your vaccination status.
Q: How do I get a new card?
A: First, try contacting the place you got vaccinated for a replacement. Start with the place you got your second shot if you got doses at two different locations — say, shot one at CVS and shot two at Walgreens.
Some places will give you a replacement card, and others will provide you with a record of your vaccination, which doesn’t necessarily come on a little white card. That’s OK, though. What you’re really looking for is the ability to present proof that you’re inoculated against the coronavirus.
For anyone who got jabbed at CVS, your vaccination record is available at the pharmacy or to print on the CVS Pharmacy app and online. Walgreens is also working on developing a digital vaccine dose card and tracker.
Q. What if my health care provider where I got vaccinated isn’t able to provide me with a new card or record?
A. You have other options. A spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health recommends contacting your local public health department to ask for the record. You can find the phone number for your county online. People who got vaccinated in Santa Clara County, for instance, will be able to get a replacement card at any of the county’s mass vaccination sites, such as Levi’s Stadium and Gilroy High School.
Another option is contacting the state. Californians can call 800-578-7889 for their immunization information or fill out a form online. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists contact info for each state.
Q: How does the state know I got vaccinated?
A: The state maintains a secure, confidential immunization information system for residents, which should include a record of your coronavirus vaccinations. If you ask the state for your vaccination record, you won’t get a white replacement card but rather a record of all of your immunizations on file, including your COVID-19 vaccinations.
Q: I lost my card before my second dose. What should I do?
A: Don’t skip your second dose appointment just because you can’t find your card. Go to the appointment. They should be able to look up your record and get you a new card.
Q: What do I do with my card after I’m vaccinated?
A: First, take photos of it (front and back) and save the electronic files. You can also make a copy and keep the card and copy with your important documents. Most health care experts warn against carrying it around daily, since it’s not exactly a sturdy document. If you need it for something specific, you can bring it then.
George Rutherford, an infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco, stapled his vaccination card into his passport, next to his yellow fever card.
“Whenever I go somewhere where I need to show it, like a basketball game for instance, I’ll take it with me,” Rutherford said. “Don’t keep it in your wallet and pull it in and out a thousand times.”
Some people have laminated their cards to keep them safe. But be careful. Some health care providers are warning people not to laminate cards in case we need them for booster shots in the future and because lamination might damage the ink. If you really want to laminate something, Santa Clara County suggests laminating a photocopy of the original card.
Jonathan Lee, chief medical officer for Sutter West Bay Medical Group, suggests putting your card in a waterproof case instead.
“Actually, I just bought some on Amazon,” Lee said. “I’ve got one for each of my family members, and it was five bucks to get five of these little plastic sleeves that zip shut. They’re waterproof, and we’ll just keep them together with our family valuables.”
Q: I don’t want to carry my card around, ever. Is there some sort of digital vaccine passport I can use instead?
Not here. New York has something called the Excelsior Pass, which is a downloadable app that shows whether someone has been fully vaccinated. New Yorkers can use it to get into concerts and baseball games. But California doesn’t have a Golden State equivalent, and there are no plans for a nationwide pass.
CLEAR, the company that works with airports to help members get through security faster, is working on a COVID-19 vaccine validation, which will let you link to your health care account to confirm your vaccination status.John Swartzberg, professor emeritus of infectious disease and vaccinology with the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, has been consulting with a number of businesses that are “extremely interested in some form of documentation for their employees about who’s vaccinated because that would go a long way in terms of ensuring workplace safety,” he said. He’d like to see the federal government or the state create a passport, rather than the piecemeal approach that is the current reality.
Q. How bad should I feel if I misplaced such an important medical document?
Swartzberg is the first to admit: Even doctors lose theirs.
“I just threw out my card,” said Swartzberg, an MD for more than 50 years. “I didn’t even think about it, back in January after I got my second jab. My wife yelled at me.”
But he was able to get his record from Sutter Health and from the state.
“I would hold onto your card so you don’t go through the hassle of what I did and just so you have the documentation in case there is some reason that the state didn’t get the information that you were vaccinated,” Swartzberg said. “But I also want to give reassurance that even if you don’t have the card, there’s a way to find documentation that you were vaccinated.”
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What to do if you lose your coronavirus vaccine card — and how to be more careful next time - Vallejo Times-Herald
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