should you laminate your covid vaccination card

#Should you laminate your covid vaccination card code#

“It’s always good to keep those in a safe spot,” she said.įour million people in the U.S. You should save it like any other health record, Wyoming Department of Health nurse consultant Heidi Gurov said. There could also be gaps in state databases for example, if you were vaccinated by a federal health provider, those records may be tracked in a separate system.Īs for your old card - if you still have it - maybe don’t mail it off to the Smithsonian quite yet. Other states don’t have the same options, so it might take longer to get your records. Washington offers two digital options for obtaining vaccination records - a comprehensive list of all of a person’s vaccinations noted in the state database and one specific to Covid-19 vaccines. “One of the positives (during the pandemic) was having increased autonomy on your patient record, especially the immunization record,” said Jeff Chorath, who manages the immunization information system in Washington state. And some websites will even track and alert patients when they’re due for another one.

#Should you laminate your covid vaccination card code#

Users can save a certificate or a QR code that proves they are vaccinated. Many states offer digital vaccination records for individuals either online or through an app.

Other places, including Wyoming and Philadelphia’s city-specific record system, require vaccine providers to log all vaccinations. There is no national registry for immunization records.įor example, Texas requires patients’ written consent to be included in the registry, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District spokesman David Andres Alegria said. Records from the mass vaccination sites held early in the pandemic also should be available in those registries, depending on state laws. Every state and some cities have an immunization registry, though rules vary on when records are included and options for obtaining copies of your records. In many cases, the clinic, pharmacy or health department that provided the shot can provide those records. Otherwise, people who need their Covid-19 immunization records will need to request them just like any other vaccine. If you’ve held on to your card, it’s still valid as proof of vaccination. “Some businesses are offering discounts for people who have been vaccinated,” Long said, “so you may need a copy or picture of your card to take advantage of those.Federal and local health officials don’t expect the discontinuation of the cards to be a particularly big change, since the days of keeping them tucked in purses and wallets to ensure entry into festivals, bars and restaurants are largely over. Hassoun, MA, PhD, a philosophy professor at Binghamton University, said that in addition to providing short-term proof of vaccination, vaccination cards may become the basis for immunity passports, documents that will be needed to access public spaces, and travel.Īnd there may be some additional perks to keeping a copy of your card handy. Wesley Long, MD, PhD, a researcher at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, added that knowing which vaccine you received could influence the composition of any future booster that you might receive.Īlso, Long noted that proof of vaccination might be required for travel, work, school, volunteering, or activities as we move forward. With the card, you’ll also know when you received your last dose if it turns out that future booster doses are needed. If the event is linked to a particular lot number of the vaccine, having this information will allow for the connection to be made between what you are experiencing and the vaccine lot you received.

Lynch, PharmD, a pharmacist and pharmacy faculty at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, said one important reason to hold onto your vaccine card is the possibility that you might experience an adverse event. Why it’s important to hold onto your vaccine card