Flexible Work
AARP Skills Builder
Flexible Work
ON-DEMAND WEBINARS
Drug Prices
Social Security
Medicare & Medicaid
Caregiving
LONG-TERM CARE
State Guides
Prepare to Care Guides
End of Life
Home Technology
Get Happier
POSSIBILITIES OF AI
Relationships
Home Health
Leaving AARP.org Website
You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
BrandAmp by AARP provides the opportunity for our highly vetted marketing partners to share their expert knowledge, insights and storytelling with loyal and engaged readers like you. Each piece of paid content is created in collaboration with the disclosed advertiser and AARP Media Sales’ content development team.
BrandAmp by AARP content is designed to uphold AARP standards of excellence and inspire conversation. Only advertisers who have gone through the strictest reviews are cleared to bring their message directly to members using all of AARP media properties (AARP.org, social media, email newsletters and our print publications). Our pledge to members is work with brands whose products and services are of value to the 50+ audience; and are committed to the type of compelling, informative, entertaining and useful content members are accustomed to seeing within AARP media properties.
You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
Congratulations, you've been inoculated against the coronavirus — and you have an official COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card to prove it.
You should keep the card, which bears your name, date of birth, vaccine type and vaccination date, in a safe place. You may need it in the future. You should also take a photo of the card as a backup, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises.
Here's what you shouldn't do with your vaccine card: Laminate it.
Georges C. Benjamin, 68, executive director of the American Public Health Association, counsels against laminating your vaccination record. That's chiefly because that card has blank spaces to record future shots, whether the second dose of a two-dose regimen or a booster shot should one become necessary. Sealing the card in plastic would prevent the vaccine provider from adding such information to the original card.
As for his vaccine card, Benjamin followed CDC advice and recorded a digital picture on his mobile phone. He placed the paper card in a drawer where he keeps his passport and the yellow international vaccine card he uses, as needed, for foreign travel.
But what if you want to protect your card from coffee stains or smudges from Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? Benjamin says you can keep it safe and stain-free in a plastic sleeve — like the ones used for ID badges. A set of five plastic sleeves could be had for $4.99 on Amazon.
Another way to protect your vaccination record? As AARP has urged, do not post your vaccine card on social media because it contains sensitive information. Doing so is waving red meat in front of a sharp-fanged identity thief. Instead, treat your hard-earned vaccine card like you would your Social Security card. It's important, private and uniquely yours.
More From AARP
What to Know About the Coronavirus Vaccines
Questions continue as millions of Americans get immunized
CDC Study Validates mRNA Vaccine Efficacy
New CDC data confirms effectiveness of mRNA shots at preventing coronavirus infectionsEssential Vaccines for People 50-Plus
Vaccines adults need for protection against serious diseases