Here's what to do if you lose your Covid-19 vaccination card

All South Africans who receive a Covid-19 vaccine are required to register on the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS), a national register for Covid-19 vaccinations that is controlled by the Department of Health.

Once you have been vaccinated, you are placed on this national register and issued with a vaccination card.

One of my first thoughts after receiving my first jab was, “Where do I keep my vaccination card?” It’s a card many South Africans have been waiting for for a long time — and one you wouldn’t want to lose. But what happens if disaster strikes and you lose or misplace your card — or perhaps it’s stolen?

According to Kwara Kekana, the spokesperson for the MEC for the Gauteng health department, if you lose your vaccination card, you can apply for a replacement copy. She does advise, however, that you make and keep a copy of your original vaccination certificate as it’s signed at the point of vaccination.

If you need to apply for a new card, “the easiest starting point would be to [go to] the site where one was vaccinated and speak to the site manager”, she says.

Your vaccination information will be accessible via the EVDS and can be retrieved using your ID or passport number. According to the Department of Health, “During vaccination, all vaccination information of the vaccine [sic] will be captured in the EVDS including the dose received, batch number, manufacturer.”

According to Kekana, it is not yet clear whether you will need your vaccination card if you intend travelling internationally — or whether alternative forms of vaccination verification will be accepted.

She adds that it’s a matter being attended to by the department and the department of international relations & co-operation.