How to Travel with Your COVID-19 Vaccination Card
Shandra Martinez
| 3 min read
Whether it’s a weekend getaway or catching a flight for work meetings, you’ve likely got your regular trip preparations well in hand. Your suitcases are packed and you’ve double-checked your reservations. But what about your newest accessory? We’ve got some tips for how to travel with your COVID-19 vaccination card.
Millions of Americans are fully vaccinated and have received either two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccines, or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Being able to show that you’ve been vaccinated has become increasingly important, as it is required at some border entries for people traveling internationally. Proof of vaccination is being requested locally and regionally as people get back to attending music concerts, large work conferences and other crowded indoor events.
Every vaccination comes with a white card. No matter what type of COVID-19 vaccination people received, every person left their vaccination appointment with the same thing: a 4×3 inch white card with some important details on it. Each card, issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has the same information on it:
- The person’s name
- Date of birth
- Manufacturer of the vaccine received
- The dose number
- The date and location each vaccine was administered
Here are some tips to consider when traveling with your COVID vaccine card:
Keep it safe. Safeguarding the vaccination card has become an important act in this pandemic era. Because the card size does not fit easily into a wallet, some people worry about it getting torn or frayed. In the last several months, healthcare and travel experts have offered some good advice about how to go places and keep the card information nearby.
Keep it in one spot. Whether you tuck it into a purse, backpack or briefcase, it helps if you keep the card in one spot when you travel, making it easy to access quickly when you need it.
Vaccine card protector. Slip your card into these clear plastic pouches, which offer protection and usually a lanyard clip, making it simple to keep the card close to your person.
Snap a pic. One of the first things you should do after being given your card is to take a photo of it and keep it stored on your phone’s camera roll. You can create a separate Vaccine Card online album for that photo – and photos of your spouse’s or children’s cards - to make it easy to find when you need to access it.
Email yourself a copy. Another way to keep a photo of your vaccination card on hand is to email a copy to yourself and archive that message electronically. That way, you can call it up on your laptop or even your mobile phone if you need it.
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Photo credit: Getty Images
