LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nearly half a million Kentuckians have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Many of them went home with a hand-written vaccination card, which includes the type of vaccine they received, the day it was administered, and a reminder to return for a second dose. Naturally, some of them have lost the card. They shouldn't worry.

What You Need To Know

  • After receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, people are given a vaccination card

  • The card includes information about the vaccine, along with when and where it was administered

  • If someone loses their vaccination card, they can contract the administrator for a duplicate

  • Losing a vaccination card should not effect one’s ability to receive their second dose of a vaccine

“To think that you couldn’t get your second dose, it would be awful,” said Melinda Joyce, Vice President of Corporate Support Services at Bowling Green’s Med Center Health.

But Joyce and other representatives of Kentucky hospitals told Spectrum News 1 that people have options if they lose their vaccination card and they do not risk missing their full vaccine course.

“It's best if they can bring it with them, but it would not be a problem for them to be able to get that second dose,” she said. 

According to the CDC, most people who get a COVID-19 vaccine can expect to receive a vaccination card or printed paper with key information after receiving their vaccination. The small white cards have become a common prop in post-vaccine selfies, and led to warnings about potential scams. The cards issued by Med Center Health contain the lot number and expiration date for the medication a patient receives, Joyce said, along with personal information. 

This key information will also likely be kept on-hand at the vaccine administrator. 

Lynne Choate, spokesperson for Norton Hospital, said the information is kept in the hospital's electronic medical record system. “The card is for the consumer’s benefit and (losing it) doesn’t hinder them from being able to get their second dose,” she said. 

Kristi Willett, a spokesperson for UK HealthCare, said if a patient receives their first COVID-19 vaccine from UK, they can return for their second shot and get a duplicate card. “We will have a record of the first shot and can fill in the blank information,” she said. 

UofL Health spokesperson David McArthur recommended a similar approach, advising patients who lost their vaccine card to reach back out to the provider for a duplicate.

Baptist Health, which is administering vaccines in Louisville, advises those who receive a shot at their facilities to create an account on its patient portal, MyChart. “MyChart features a section just for immunizations where you can view which vaccine you received and the dates they were administered,” spokesperson Diane L. Staton said in an email. 

If a patient loses their card between doses, they can receive a duplicate at their second appointment. If they lose it after the second dose, Staton said they “should contact the site where you received your vaccination to request a new card.”

Joyce, from Med Center Health, emphasized that patients should hang on to the card even after receiving both doses of the vaccine, just in case it’s needed down the line. 

“We don't know exactly, at this point in time, what those cards might be needed for,” she said. “There is always the possibility that in the future, in order to travel internationally, you would need to show proof that you had received your COVID vaccine. That card would be one of the ways that you could do that.”

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