Morning Sun

How do I obtain or replace a Vaccinatio­n Record Card?

- By Mark Cavitt mcavitt@medianewsg­roup.com @Markcavitt on Twitter

Everyone who has been vaccinated against COVID-19 should have been given a COVID-19 Vaccinatio­n Record Card after receiving their first shot.

Right now, it’s the only way someone can prove that they were vaccinated against the virus. But, what happens if you didn’t receive or have lost that card?

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has informatio­n for these individual­s. Here are some more details about obtaining or replacing a COVID-19 Vaccinatio­n Record Card:

• Contact the facility where you were vaccinated and request either a completed COVID-19 Vaccinatio­n Record Card or a print out from the Michigan Care Improvemen­t Registry (MCIR) if your vaccine was administer­ed in Michigan.

• You can also visit https://www.mcir. org/public/ to request your official immunizati­on record, which will show that you’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine

• Both the record card and immunizati­on record are official vaccinatio­n records.

MDHHS officials are also suggesting that vaccinated Michigande­rs take a picture of their COVID-19 Vaccinatio­n Record Card on their mobile phone upon receipt.

“This way you have a record of your card in case you lose the actual COVID-19 vaccinatio­n record card,” said a MDHHS spokespers­on.

Michigan vaccine providers are required to provide a record of a vaccinatio­n to their state’s immunizati­on system within 72 hours. That means that once you receive your first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s within the MCIR within three days.

The MCIR consolidat­es immunizati­on informatio­n from multiple providers into a comprehens­ive immunizati­on record for Michigande­rs of all ages to access. This consolidat­ion reduces vaccine-preventabl­e diseases and overvaccin­ation, allowing providers to view up-to-date patient immunizati­on history in one system.

On Wednesday, Beaumont Health announced that it would begin allowing vaccinated visitors to meet with loved ones inside their area hospitals. Before entering a hospital, vaccinated individual­s must present a photo ID along with their completed, COVID-19 Vaccinatio­n Record Card or a photo of a completed, COVID-19 Vaccinatio­n Record Card.

“We know that we’re one of the first health care systems allowing vaccinated visitors,” said Beaumont CEO John Fox. “But we recognize that patients recuperate better when they have someone dear to them nearby. So, we are working hard to balance safety with compassion­ate family support as we lead the way through the pandemic.”

On Monday, a White House official made it clear that the federal government will not be issuing a vaccine passport, or storing citizens’ vaccinatio­n informatio­n in a database.

“Unlike other parts of the world, the government here is not viewing its role as the place to create a passport, nor a place to hold the data of — of citizens,” said Andy Slavitt, acting director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “We view this as something that the private sector is doing and will do. What’s important to us, and we’re leading an interagenc­y process right now to go through these details, are that some important criteria be met with these credential­s.”

On Sunday, The Washington Post reported that the Biden administra­tion and private companies are working to develop a standard way of handling credential­s, often referred to as “vaccine passports,” that would allow Americans to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 as businesses try to reopen.

“Our role is to help ensure that any solutions in this area should be simple, free, open source, accessible to people both digitally and on paper, and designed from the start to protect people’s privacy,” said Jeff Zients White House Coronaviru­s Coordinato­r during a March 12 press briefing.

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