Traveling Soon? Don’t Forget These 6 Health Documents 

If you’re preparing to travel in the next few months, you may need to have more health-related information on hand than usual, since some destinations continue to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

But there are other health documents that are extremely useful for you to have access to when you’re away from home, in case you become ill or have any sort of medical emergency.

“It’s always better to be prepared,” says Scott Keyes, founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, an email subscription service for flight deals. “During your vacation, while you’re actually there, you want to enjoy it as much as possible.”

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Documentation, including insurance information, is easier to manage in the digital age thanks to email, websites and mobile apps, notes David O. Freedman, M.D., professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He recommends emailing all of your health information to yourself, as well as to a relative or friend — but also bringing paper copies, in case you’re in a situation where you can’t easily access the internet.

Here are six types of health information travelers may need, depending on their destination and medical condition.

1. COVID-19 vaccination card

While some U.S. cities have required proof of vaccination to participate in activities like indoor dining, those rules are rapidly being dropped as the recent COVID-19 surge abates. But many countries and the major cruise lines still require proof and/or a negative COVID-19 test. At least two cruise companies — Grand Circle Cruise Line and Regent Seven Seas Cruises — require passengers to show their original paper vaccination card

Rules vary, but generally travelers must carry either their paper vaccination card, a digital image of the card or be able to access the information through a website or app. Some U.S. states and some countries offer digital health passports that generate a QR code to show as proof. Other apps, including those offered by Apple, CLEAR, IBM and SMART, help users manage all their health information.

Consider protecting your paper card inside an inexpensive plastic sleeve or case, suggests Vicki Sowards, director of clinical resources for Passport Health, a Phoenix-based provider of travel medical services. You can laminate the card, although then you can’t add more immunizations, she notes.

Carrying a paper and digital vaccination record is especially important internationally, says Sarah Fazendin, owner of Videre Travel in Denver. “The rules and regulations are changing all the time,” she explains. “It’s hard to predict what will happen two weeks from now.”

2. Proof of other vaccinations

Americans traveling to certain countries may want to carry the yellow paper card (no digital version exists) recording the vaccinations, they’ve had — for hepatitis, for example, typhoid or yellow fever — that are recommended in other parts of the world. The “Destinations” page on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website provides recommended vaccinations and health notices by country.

While you don’t generally have to show official proof of those vaccinations, you do for certain diseases in certain countries. Tanzania, for instance, requires proof of vaccination for yellow fever.

3. COVID-19 test results

Some countries and cruise lines require that travelers show a negative COVID-19 test. Even the United States requires it for reentry into the country, regardless of citizenship or vaccination status.