# Got vaccine but no card
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043
**Category:** The Quarantine Zone
**Tags:** covid-quarantine
**Created:** [March 1, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043 "2021-03-01T16:37:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/1 "2021-03-01T16:37:53Z")
As I mentioned in the other thread, my wife got her first vaccine shot on Saturday.
I asked her to show me the card, and she said “What card? I didn’t get any card.”
Is this going to cause her problems in the future? She already has the appointment for the second shot, at the same location.
---
### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/2 "2021-03-01T17:10:37Z")
From [here:](https://www.healthline.com/health-news/youll-get-a-vaccination-card-with-your-covid-19-vaccine-why-its-important#Why-vaccination-cards-are-important)
> [@](#):
>
> She says vaccination or shot cards have been used for decades, and this is just one of several ways that individuals can help keep track of critical information related to their COVID-19 vaccination status.
>
> This is not the only existing record. It is an extra record that can be put in a wallet or purse and kept for personal medical records.
>
> “State providers who get these vaccines will report to the immunization registries,” says Bridges.
>
> “We want to have redundant systems in recordkeeping in place so that there are backups, to make sure that people get the right dose at the right time with the correct vaccine,” she told Healthline.
If she has the second appointment, the information must be in the system. I would think that she would only have to verify her identity. But make sure to get the card the second time.
---
### Author:  [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/3 "2021-03-01T19:18:30Z")
> [@Colibri](#):
>
> But make sure to get the card the second time.
And remember to write down somewhere findable again the date and locale and sponsoring agency that did the administering of the vaccine. It can then be backtracked if needed. I just post mine in my google calendar.
---
### Author:  [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/4 "2021-03-01T19:44:32Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#):
>
> And remember to write down somewhere findable again the date and locale and sponsoring agency that did the administering of the vaccine.
Excellent idea, thank you.
---
### Author:  [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/5 "2021-03-01T23:59:17Z")
I have never heard of a “vaccine card”, let alone received one. I get a flu vaccine every year, and had a tetanus vaccine just over a month ago. No cards.
---
### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/6 "2021-03-02T00:07:44Z")
> [@Colibri](#):
>
> But make sure to get the card the second time.
I took my mom to get her second dose of Pfizer on Friday. They didn’t give her a card either time. I asked this time, and they said, “this piece of paper has the information”.
It does give her name, the dates, and the lot number of both doses of vaccine. But it’s just an 8.5x11 piece of paper, printed in ordinary don’t with ordinary black ink.
---
### Author:  [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/7 "2021-03-02T00:25:12Z")
I just wandered around the CDC webpage looking for a copy of my COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card and couldn’t find an image to share.
My card with all sorts of official CDC logos and legalese has to be folded because it doesn’t fit in my wallet. The date, dose and location is on the front and the time/date for the second dose is on the back. There is room for the 2nd dose to be documented and two “other” slots.
---
### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2021, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/8 "2021-03-02T00:30:46Z")
In addition to documenting that you have been vaccinated, the card will (or should) give you the lot number of the vaccine, in the (unlikely) event that they discover there’s a batch that got left out of the freezer for a week or something like that. I’m sure they can look up all her details if she goes back to the same place for the second shot - ask them to look that up too, and make sure all the info is on the card.
---
### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/9 "2021-03-02T00:47:42Z")
I was told to hold onto my card for my second dose and to at least snap a photo of it for my own record of lot numbers date etc.
---
### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/10 "2021-03-02T00:49:53Z")
Mine were paperclips to the several pages of vaccine information and V-safe sign-up info both times.
---
### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2021, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/11 "2021-03-02T03:33:48Z")
Got my 1st jab today (Moderna). The paperwork says we should get a card, but I didn’t. And we should bring the card for the 2nd shot. I saw other people getting cards. I asked, and they said they are only giving cards with the 2nd shot. (My theory: They just ran out of blank cards.)
And yes, while waiting in the observations room, I overheard someone remark something like “Leave it to government bureaucrats to design a wallet card that doesn’t fit in a wallet.” 🙂
---
### Author:  [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2021, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/12 "2021-03-02T03:38:36Z")
> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> Leave it to government bureaucrats to design a wallet card that doesn’t fit in a wallet.” 🙂
Mine fits in my wallet just fine. It is business card size.
---
### Author:  [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/13 "2021-03-02T22:39:24Z")
Turns out my BIL (in a different state) did receive a card when he got his shots, listing the dates of both shots. Had the CDC logo and everything.
Ignorance fought.
---
### Author:  [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/14 "2021-03-03T22:30:06Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#):
>
> My card with all sorts of official CDC logos and legalese has to be folded because it doesn’t fit in my wallet. The date, dose and location is on the front and the time/date for the second dose is on the back. There is room for the 2nd dose to be documented and two “other” slots.
This sounds like what I was given. Mine also has a sticker on it from the facility where I got the vaccine with my medical ID number.
---
### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/15 "2021-03-09T20:20:17Z")
Update: It turns out my wife did get the card after all. We found it in her purse. She’s a bit absent-minded about stuff like that.
---
### Author:  [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2021, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/16 "2021-03-09T20:59:29Z")
> [@suranyi](#):
>
> She’s a bit absent-minded about stuff like that.
To be fair, there is a lot going on when you get jabbed, especially at a big site like I did. It is easy to get mixed up with all the pieces of paper involved. I was also incredibly giddy with relief walking back to my car after my first jab-not sure I would have noticed much detail about anything. I was lucky I could find my way out of the parking garage and the whole mile home.
From my years of experience at being a nurse doing vaccination clinics, we are required to give each person the vaccine name, manufacturer and very importantly, the lot number of the vial. This is so they can give it if they have a significant side effect or reaction and it is reported to the feds for investigation. 99.9999% of the time none of that info is ever needed but the few times it is are crucial.
---
### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/17 "2021-03-10T20:31:29Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#):
>
> Mine fits in my wallet just fine. It is business card size.
Mine is larger; doubled over it’s about the size of a credit card.
I snapped a photo on my phone, but I have the card in my wallet as well.
---
### Author:  [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/18 "2021-03-10T20:33:49Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#):
>
> I snapped a photo on my phone, but I have the card in my wallet as well.
Good idea. I hope I remember to do this as well when I get my jab 2 tomorrow.
---
### Author:  [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/19 "2021-03-10T22:06:02Z")
While I was getting my second shot today, I asked if they had received any of the smaller cards I had heard about because I would like to trade my big one in for a proper sized card… The nice lady told me that they hadn’t received or even heard about different cards, but told me to call back in a couple of weeks because things were still very fluid.
---
### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043/20 "2021-03-13T23:07:08Z")
> [@suranyi](#):
>
> Update: It turns out my wife did get the card after all. We found it in her purse. She’s a bit absent-minded about stuff like that.
My mom didn’t. I explicitly asked about it at the time.
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#):
>
> From my years of experience at being a nurse doing vaccination clinics, we are required to give each person the vaccine name, manufacturer and very importantly, the lot number of the vial. This is so they can give it if they have a significant side effect or reaction and it is reported to the feds for investigation.
She did get this information. But it was printed on an 8.5”x11” piece of paper, and wasn’t the sort of thing you could possibly use as id. It didn’t have anything resembling a seal, or even a logo. Just black times roman font on white paper.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-vaccine-but-no-card/934043.md?page=2)