How to handle your COVID vaccination card with care

Don’t lose that vaccination record card, but don’t show it off, either.

The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services is offering tips on how to responsibly handle the record cards that COVID-19 vaccine recipients get to prove they’ve received their shots. So for the hundreds of thousands of Nevadans in possession of one of these cards, keep this in mind:

• Keep the card. It contains important information about your vaccine dosage and, if you received one of the two-shot versions (so far, Moderna and Pfizer-biontech), ensures the second dose is received within the proper time frame (three weeks for Pfizer, four weeks for Moderna).

• Bring your card to your second appointment, if you’re on a two-shot series.

• Make a digital backup in case you misplace your original: Take a photo of your card on your phone.

• Don’t post that photo to social media. It contains personal information that could be used by identity thieves, the health department says. In addition to the particulars of the dose you received, it contains your name and birthdate.

The health department encourages people to share their vaccine testimonies but consider using a picture of one of the souvenir vaccine stickers handed out at your clinic. The UNLV clinic, for example, offers “I got the COVID-19 vaccine!” stickers with a stylized rendering of the Strip skyline in a variety of cheery colors.

If you do lose your original card, you can request your immunization record online through the state Division of Public and Behavioral Health at https://izrecord.nv.gov/.

As of this week more than 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered and reported to the state. About 24% of Nevadans have received at least one shot.