COVID vaccination cards are now a relic

CDC phases out their distribution

The paper COVID vaccination cards were, for a time, a mainstay of American wallets — pulled out for bouncers, inspected at airport desks, and shared with pride on social media accounts.

But the days of the paper cards are over. The COVID-19 cards will no longer be given out, Dave Daigle, a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement on Thursday, explaining that the distribution of the vaccine had transitioned from the federal government to commercial hands.

People receiving vaccinations will still receive a fact sheet with information about the vaccine, he added, and state health departments will still hold a digital or paper copy.

This makes the cards a relic of the bleaker days of the pandemic, when they were handed out as part of a mass vaccination campaign. They became a valuable document representing not only some physical protection against COVID but also access to a myriad of social activities.

Given after the first vaccination, the card detailed the manufacturer of a vaccine, the dose numbers, the date and location each shot was administered, and any follow-up shots.

The paper pass became increasingly outdated in the United States and abroad as digital health passes replaced them. And as travel restrictions were lifted in most places, even the digital health passes have largely been phased out.

More than 270 million people have received at least one dose of a vaccination, according to the CDC’s tracker. With updated COVID vaccines now on the market and a risk of a surge in infections this fall and winter, the CDC last month recommended that all Americans age 6 months and older receive at least one dose of the latest shots.