More than 100 million Americans have received at least one vaccination with COVID-19. Proof? A 4-by-3-inch paper “vaccination chart” issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a post-pandemic world, for those fully vaccinated, that humble card could become an important document used for travel, event attendance, return to the post-pandemic office, and other purposes. At least a dozen colleges and universities have already announced that they will require students to be vaccinated before returning to campus in the fall. Companies are currently considering whether to require employees and customers to provide proof of vaccination as a condition of work or to conduct business.
In the meantime, here’s what experts say you should know about vaccination cards.
Photograph your filing card
The first thing experts recommend once you have been vaccinated is to take a digital photo of both sides of your personal record card. You can also scan the card and save the file to a laptop or desktop, said Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Rhode Island Hospital and an associate professor at Brown University.
One thing you shouldn’t do: share your personal proof of vaccination on Facebook or other social media sites, which can lead to identity theft because the CDC card contains both a person’s date of birth and a person’s first and last name.
“I wouldn’t post it on social media while my birthday is showing. It’s a unique identifier that could potentially allow someone to steal your identity, so I’d be careful with that at first,” said epidemiologist Danielle Ompad, a professor at the NYU School of Education. Global Public Health, CBS told MoneyWatch.
On the other hand, you can print a copy of the photo of the vaccination card and keep it in your wallet. While some experts advise against laminating the original card so that booster shots of the vaccine can be added as needed, others say that’s okay because a more sophisticated filing system will likely be in place by then.
“I would laminate it because by the time a booster comes in, the technology will have evolved,” said Dr. Maureen Miller, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
You can have your card laminated for free at the Staples office store with the code 81450 or at Office Depot with code 52516714.
Leave the original at home
Make sure to keep the original paper version of your vaccine card somewhere safe – you don’t always have to keep it with your person and you risk losing it. Experts recommend keeping the original with other important documents or medical records and carrying only the digital copy.
“It doesn’t always have to be taken with you at this point unless you’re traveling or doing something else that requires you to provide proof of vaccination,” said Ranney.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said he keeps his vaccination report in his passport (along with a card that says he has been vaccinated against yellow fever).
As with any other vaccination, notify your doctor that you have received the vaccine. This helps healthcare providers make sure your vaccination record is up to date.
Not everyone has followed the advice of experts to store vaccine data somewhere safe. University of Illinois gymnast Evan Manivong recently made a perfect landing at a jumping competition – and it was celebrated by taking his vaccine ticket out of his leotard and showing it to the public. “Go get everyone vaccinated!” the 20-year-old ad agency later tweeted. Videos of the magical moment went viral this week.
What happens if I lose it?
If you lose your card, don’t panic. Each time a vaccine is administered, the health care provider records it with the state’s immunization registry.
“Those thin pieces of paper aren’t the only proof of your vaccination status,” Adalja said. “People should keep the cards safe so they have them at hand, but it’s not the end of the world if they lose them or go through the washing machine.”
If you lose your card, call your state health department and ask for a replacement.
“Right now we have proof that you got the vaccine, but it’s not impossible to replace it,” said Dr. Christine Whelan, clinical professor of consumer science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
For now, Whelan said, the CDC’s simple white cards may have more symbolic value than practical function.
“Other countries don’t issue scraps of paper like we do, and this may be a strange thing we do. There’s something satisfying about getting away with the ticket just in case,” she said.
Not yet a universal standard
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said this week that the US government’s so-called vaccine passports for travel and other business activities. Anything that looks like a digital pass probably is developed by the private sector, he added.
Some experts regret that the government has not previously developed a standardized digital vaccination certificate.
“I think the US government should have thought of a digital app early on and had it ready for use, so that it would be activated whenever someone got a vaccine,” Adalja said. “Now we have to hurry to come up with a solution that is digital and secure, so people don’t have to worry about carrying that card.”
Ideally, a person’s vaccination status would be integrated and stored with other personal travel information reflected in programs such as Global Entry and TSA PreCheck that facilitate the process of traveling through airport security.
Beware of fake vax cards
Scammers also take advantage of the low-tech filing system. Hundreds of fraudsters sell fake versions of the CDC issued vaccination cards through e-commerce platforms including eBay, Etsy and Shopify, according to Saoud Khalifah, CEO of Fakespot, which uses artificial intelligence to warn consumers about online shopping scams.
Thanks to Fakespot
The scam cards are advertised for around $ 20 a pop, and are also offered in bulk. The fraud is shameless in the open. Fakespot has identified hundreds of Facebook pages and eBay listings with “vax cards” and “blank vaccination cards” for individuals who may not have been vaccinated yet.
“It has introduced this new dynamic into society where people can fake immunity and replace it with a fake card. It’s a new concept that we haven’t seen before,” Khalifah told CBS MoneyWatch.
Khalifah suspects that some buyers of the fake cards are anti-vaxxers who have no intention of being immunized, but still want all the access the card gives them.
The FBI has warned that such regulations violate federal laws prohibiting the unauthorized use of an official government agency’s seal, including that of the CDC. Fraudulent use of an official federal seal constitutes an offense punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and a group of bipartisan Attorney General called on the OfferUp e-commerce site this week to illegal sale of blank and counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination record cards. This kind of fraud, according to Stein, endangers the health of the general public.
“These cards will cause more people to get sick from more variants of the virus and more people to die because it takes longer for the pandemic to be under control,” he told CBS MoneyWatch. “By not getting the vaccine, more people will be infected with variants and that threatens everyone’s health.”
Race for digital passports and other solutions
As Fauci suggested, private companies are already developing ways for people to prove they have been vaccinated or are coronavirus free. For example, authorities in New York are testing a digital health card powered by blockchain technology in collaboration with computer science company IBM.
“The goal is to ultimately provide New York residents with a simple, voluntary, and safe method of demonstrating a negative COVID-19 test result or vaccination certification,” IBM said in a press release last month.
New York State
New York recently tested the so-called Excelsior Pass with the Brooklyn Nets at one of the National Basketball Association team’s home games at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. It will also be tested in theaters and other locations as more New Yorkers are vaccinated.
“The Excelsior Pass will play a critical role in bringing information to sites and locations in a secure and streamlined manner, accelerating the reopening of these businesses and taking us one step closer to achieving a new normal”, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement last month.
Vaccine management company VaxAtlas has also launched an app that allows consumers to keep vaccination cards safe.
“Verification will soon be a requirement for travel, work, locations, even schools and every state may have different rules and guidelines. We need one centralized system to ensure vaccinations and certifications are not lost and personal information stored securely. ”said VaxAtlas CEO Judi Korzec.
Reduce anxiety
VaxYes is another resource that provides free, HIPAA compliant digital vaccine records for inoculated individuals. The company’s CEO, Mohammed Gaber, expects the product to be the most widely used in the travel industry initially.
“I’ve personally gone through the highs of getting both doses of the vaccine and the lows of thinking and fearing that I lost my card. Everyone will be concerned about this card and how to protect it,” Gaber said.
VaxYes is working with several states and organizations in the US, including Kansas, which is testing the tool to allow residents to return to shows and other events. According to the company, to date thousands of Americans have digitized their paper charts through VaxYes.
“People are already starting to think about summer travel plans, and they see this as an enabler to get back to normal and resume their travel activities,” said Gaber. “We are super excited to be part of the solution.”