Redwood City – You got vaccinated against COVID-19.
You may have questions about how you can verify your vaccination status when you:
► Apply for a job
► Apply for school
► Travel in the United States
► Travel outside the United States
► Attend a festival, sporting event or other mass gathering
► Enter a restaurant, winery, brewery or bar
► Need to show proof of vaccination status to your employer or anyone else.
How to Obtain Copies of COVID-19 Vaccination Records
San Mateo County Health, like other providers in California, administers COVID-19 vaccinations on behalf of the state and follows guidelines from the California Department of Public Health.
All individuals who are vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine receive a paper vaccination record card.
There is no one shape or form to this document. It can be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or a local health-care provider, such as San Mateo County Health.
Vaccination record documents are valid from any entity that issues COVID-19 vaccine as access to the vaccine is regulated by the United States government. At its mass vaccination sites, San Mateo County Health, for instance, issued thousands of verification records on letter-size cardstock so that additional space was available for health and safety information.
The County Health document included the name of the person vaccinated, date of birth, the type of vaccine provided and lot number, the date the last dose was administered, and the site where it was administered.
The County of San Mateo used the reverse side of the sheet to provide information about what participants should expect after vaccination, what to do if they have an adverse reaction, and a reminder about their second appointment to complete the Pfizer or Moderna series.
Providing the vaccination and safety information on a single sheet reduced the chances of its being lost or ignored, since receiving the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna is essential to being fully vaccinated. This format is consistent with the standards established by the California Department of Public Health.
Participants in County Health’s community vaccination clinics receive a 4.25” x 3.5” card.
Regardless of where you received the vaccination, here’s how to obtain your vaccination records:
► Request your digital record at the state’s My Vaccine Record portal or all COVID-19 vaccinations administered in California with State distributed vaccine and for vaccines administered as part of the federal pharmacies, dialysis center, and federally qualified health center programs. To get your Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record, your mobile phone number or email address must be included with your record in the California Immunization Registry (CAIR). Make sure your provider has that information and submits it to the registry. If you aren't able to access your record, follow the troubleshooting tips.
► People vaccinated through a health care provider can also request copies of their records from the health care provider. Many providers have their own online systems or apps to display a vaccination record.
► Individuals who received their vaccine at a federal facility (Department of Defense, Indian Health Services, or Veterans Affairs) will need to request a vaccine record from those facilities directly; the information is not submitted to or documented in California Immunization Registry (CAIR).
“We understand our community’s concern about making sure they have the proper way to verify their vaccination status, especially now as more businesses and employers are requiring this information,” said Srija Srinivasan, deputy chief of San Mateo County Health. “The surest and most effective way to verify vaccination status is to use the My Vaccination Record portal.”