Vaccination providers can help replace lost cards

A person who received any COVID-19 inoculation was given a small white card listing the date, the dose and the vaccine manufacturer.

Proof of completed vaccination status, or two COVID-19 vaccine doses, may be required in some settings and it will be needed if a fully-vaccinated person tries later to get a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna booster shot -- effectively a third dose -- which the Biden administration said last week would be available beginning Sept. 20.

Individuals, reported the White House on Aug. 25, become booster-eligible starting eight months after receiving the second Pfizer or Moderna dose.

What happens, though, if you lose your card?

"We suggest you call or (otherwise) contact the vaccine provider where you received your (inoculations) because that (vaccinator) will have the record," said Jane Wernsman, director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center on Tuesday.

The PHC was the vaccinator at a number of venues in Cape Girardeau County while hospital systems and pharmacies were responsible at other vaccination clinics.

"Knowing the date you were vaccinated would help us to find you in our system," she said, adding vaccinators may be able to help generate a new card.

Wernsman said if the PHC was responsible for the vaccination, it is possible her department could generate a replacement card "within a week" and would work with an individual on the best delivery method.

The website of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) said the agency will not give out replacement cards.

DHSS communications director Lisa Cox said Missourians can request immunization records, which would include that information. Cox added those who used Missouri's Vaccine Navigator website to schedule COVID-19 vaccine doses would have emails and information on their profiles showing their vaccination information.

A person presenting a physical vaccination card should not expect receiving a booster will be automatic, Wernsman said.

"We're not going to give a shot based on a presented card; we'll always be checking our records," she said.

Caution

"We've been hearing a lot of folks have the perception that the (booster) is for (anyone in) the (fully vaccinated) general public but at this point in time, that's not the case," Wernsman said, noting federal guidance is restricting the booster to individuals who have one of six conditions identified on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

"(The booster) may be administered to certain individuals who are moderately or severely immunocompromised (and) those people will have to sign an attestation form acknowledging they have one of those conditions," Wernsman said.

A blank Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C) vaccination card for COVID-19.C.D.C. photo