What Happens If I Misplace or Lose My California Vaccination Card?

Wondering how to show proof you’ve been vaccinated? What should you do if you misplace your vaccination card?

All California state employees and state healthcare workers must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Many businesses and restaurants in San Francisco and the Bay Area require proof of vaccination to enter.

Currently, 62% of all Californians eligible for the vaccine are fully vaccinated. There is increasing pressure on the private sector to require employees to prove they are vaccinated. Vaccination is required in homeless shelters and jails.

What Counts As Proof of Vaccination?

Valid proof of vaccination can be provided in two ways:

1. Vaccination Card

2. Digital Vaccine Record

The state of California has a Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record. This digital record contains the same information as the paper vaccine card issued by the CDC:

Name:

Date of birth:

Vaccination dates:

Type of vaccination you received:

The Digital Vaccine Record also includes a QR code. This code is scannable by SMART Health Card readers.

Scanning the QR code provides access to a secure copy of your vaccination record. Having a QR code verifies that the vaccine record is officially registered with the state of California.

How to Access the California Digital Covid-19 Vaccine Portal

The Digital Vaccine Portal accesses the vaccine records from California’s vaccination registries. In order to locate your official record, the following information is necessary:

Name:

Date of birth:

Email or phone number that the vaccination registry associates with your records:

4 digit PIN that you create:

Sign up for the California Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record at https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/.

Enter the above information when prompted. Once the record is located, you will receive a link to access the CA Digital COVID-19 Vaccine portal. You have 24 hours to click on the link. Enter the 4-digit PIN that you created.

Now you should be able to access your COVID-19 vaccination record. If your link to the portal expires because you didn’t respond within 24 hours, you must start the process over again.

You’ll notice the information is almost identical to that found on the CDC Vaccination card. Keep both your CDC card and the California Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record.

A digital record of your vaccination information is located in your vaccine portal. You will also receive a QR code. This code is scannable.

This QR code is what you’ll need to have handy every time you attend an event or enter a facility, business, or other places like campuses that require proof of vaccination. You can also use the physical CDC vaccine card provided when the vaccination was administered.

Number of COVID-19 Delta Variant Cases Continues to Rise

The delta coronavirus variant is hitting the Bay Area and all across the state of California. If the color-coded system were still in place, half of the counties in California would be in the purple tier. Except for Marin County and Santa Clara County, the rest of the Bay Area counties would be designated purple tier zones under the color system.

Even with proof of vaccination, experts recommend wearing masks in indoor settings due to the rapid increase in hospitalizations from the delta variant. Vaccination is also strongly recommended. The COVID-19 vaccines mitigate serious illness, severe complications, and death from the highly contagious delta COVID-19 variant.

The latest data indicates that even fully vaccinated individuals can still spread COVID-19. Because of this, when attending a public event indoors, bring along proof of vaccination and wear your mask.

What Happens If You Misplace or Lose Proof You Were Vaccinated?

Not having access to your vaccination card, whether you misplace it or lose it, can prevent you from gaining access to indoor destinations. If you are using the digital vaccine record, another problem that sometimes occurs is the QR code does not work.

What should you do? Read on because, fortunately, there are several steps you can take to ensure you always have access to proof you were vaccinated for COVID-19.

California Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record and QR Code

It should be easier to keep track of your digital vaccine record. To avoid issues proving your vaccination status, take a screenshot of your QR code and keep it on your phone. Note that the QR code will not work properly when scanned with a regular QR code scanner. This is for privacy purposes.

The QR code will only work when the SMART Health Card verifier app is used. Businesses, events locations, and employers will download and use the SMART Health Card verifier to scan your QR code and confirm you have been vaccinated. This is why having the QR code available on your phone will save you time and prevent inconvenience.

If you notice any of the information on your Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record is incorrect, make sure to contact your vaccine provider so your immunization record can be corrected. If you have multiple family members and use the same phone number, enter each family member’s information one at a time. This way each member will receive a separate link to access their digital vaccine record.

If you find you are having difficulty accessing your record, double-check that you are using the correct email address and phone number. Confirm your name and birthdate are also correct.

You can save your Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record to your phone. If you prefer, you can simply take a screenshot of it.

If you lose your Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record completely, there is a resolution. Simply visit the Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record portal and complete the process again.

CDC Vaccine (Physical) Card

It happens. If you lose or misplace your CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record card, make sure you registered for the California Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record and have your QR Code available. Contact the vaccination provider where your COVID-19 vaccine was administered. Your provider may be able to replace the card.

If you are enrolled in the CDC’s text notification system, you will also have access to your vaccination records. Experts recommend taking a photo of your CDC Vaccination card and making notes about the name, address, and phone number of the location you were vaccinated.

Your Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record is the digital version of your CDC paper vaccine card. If you misplace or lose your paper vaccine card, you can print out the digital version and use it instead.

Plan in Advance to Avoid Losing Or Misplacing Your Vaccination Card

Take a few minutes now to find a secure, yet accessible, location to store your CDC Vaccination card, just like you would your passport. Although replacing the card is not impossible, avoid the inconvenience if you can.

The good news is that there are already options in place, even if you misplace your card. Having the California Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record with the scannable QR code on your smartphone reduces the risk that you’ll lose track of your card.

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