Say goodbye to the COVID-19 vaccination card. The CDC has stopped printing them

(AP) – It’s the top of an period for a once-critical pandemic doc: The ever-present white COVID-19 vaccination playing cards are being phased out.

Now that COVID-19 vaccines will not be being distributed by the federal authorities, the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention has stopped printing new playing cards.

The federal authorities shipped greater than 980 million playing cards between late 2020, when the primary vaccines got here out, via Might 10, in accordance with the newest out there knowledge from the CDC.

Federal and native well being officers don’t anticipate the discontinuation of the playing cards to be a very huge change, because the days of holding them tucked in purses and wallets to make sure entry into festivals, bars and eating places are largely over. When you’ve held on to your card, it’s nonetheless legitimate as proof of vaccination. In any other case, individuals who want their COVID-19 immunization data might want to request them similar to every other vaccine.

In lots of circumstances, the clinic, pharmacy or well being division that offered the shot can present these data. Each state and a few cities have an immunization registry, although guidelines fluctuate on when data are included and choices for acquiring copies of your data.

For instance, Texas requires sufferers’ written consent to be included within the registry, San Antonio Metropolitan Well being District spokesman David Andres Alegria stated. Different locations, together with Wyoming and Philadelphia’s city-specific document system, require vaccine suppliers to log all vaccinations.

Many states provide digital vaccination data for people both on-line or via an app. Customers can save a certificates or a QR code that proves they’re vaccinated. And a few web sites will even monitor and alert sufferers once they’re due for an additional one.

“One of many positives (throughout the pandemic) was having elevated autonomy in your affected person document, particularly the immunization document,” stated Jeff Chorath, who manages the immunization info system in Washington state. Washington gives two digital choices for acquiring vaccination data — a complete listing of all of an individual’s vaccinations famous within the state database and one particular to COVID-19 vaccines.

Different states don’t have the identical choices, so it’d take longer to get your data. There may be gaps in state databases; for instance, in the event you have been vaccinated by a federal well being supplier, these data could also be tracked in a separate system.

As on your previous card — in the event you nonetheless have it — possibly don’t mail it off to the Smithsonian fairly but. You must reserve it like every other well being document, Wyoming Division of Well being nurse guide Heidi Gurov stated.

“It’s at all times good to maintain these in a secure spot,” she stated.

4 million individuals within the U.S. have acquired the newest COVID-19 vaccine because it was permitted final month, CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen stated Wednesday, and a complete of 10 million doses have been shipped to suppliers.

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The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives help from the Robert Wooden Johnson Basis. The AP is solely chargeable for all content material.