What to Do When You’ve Lost Your COVID Vaccine Card
Amy Barczy
| 2 min read
Amy Barczy is a former brand journalist who authored content at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Prior to her time at Blue Cross from 2019-2024, she was a statewide news reporter for MLive.com. She has a decade of storytelling experience in local news media markets including Lansing, Grand Rapids, Holland, Ann Arbor and Port Huron.
Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the first step to safely returning to activities that you enjoy like visiting with family and friends and traveling. But after getting vaccinated, it may be easy to misplace the official U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination card you receive to help you track your immunization records. Vaccination cards are distributed by health care providers and pharmacies at the time you receive your COVID vaccine. They show where, when and what type of COVID vaccine you received. Vaccination cards are increasingly being used by some major cities, employers and entertainment venues as a safety measure. When traveling, some destinations require travelers to be fully vaccinated or allow fully vaccinated individuals to avoid safety measures like quarantining. Some cruise lines require individuals to be vaccinated. As officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weigh the need for booster shots, it’s also good to know when you received your first round of vaccinations. If you received your COVID-19 vaccine in the state of Michigan, the state has an online portal where you can retrieve your vaccination records. It’s called the Michigan Immunization Portal. Users must be at least 18 years old. Here’s how you retrieve your COVID vaccine record:
- Go to the Michigan Immunization Portal online
- Create an account or sign into your existing account
- Upload a photo of your valid government-issued I.D. (your driver’s license, state I.D. card or passport)
If you received your COVID-19 vaccine in another state, check with that state’s health department to see if they have kept vaccination records. You can also check with the pharmacy, clinic, provider’s office or hospital where you received the vaccination to see if they kept records. To protect your COVID vaccination card in the future, experts advise the following:
- Don’t laminate the card, as you may need a booster shot in the future and you may need to add information to it
- Take pictures of the front and the back of the card and upload them to an accessible location or email it to yourself
- Don’t post photos of the card on social media, as they contain personal information and could be used to produce fake cards
More from MIBluesPerspectives:
- Scam Warning: Don’t Share Photos of COVID-19 Vaccine Card
- COVID Vaccine Updates: Get the Facts
- How Booster Shots Keep Your Immunity Strong
Photo credit: Getty Images
