WASHINGTON — DC residents and those wanting to visit the District will soon need to show proof of vaccination status to enter nightclubs, bars, gyms and more as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise.
Starting Jan. 15 at 6 a.m., certain D.C. establishments must make sure their patrons who are 12 and older have at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. Come Feb. 15, all patrons will need to have two doses.
While vaccine cards have become a part of most people's everyday lives, what can you do if you forget a card at home or just don't want to carry a medical document with you? There are a few different options when it comes to providing proof of vaccine status.
What counts as proof of vaccine?
Vaccine Cards
Your trusty vaccine card is the first acceptable type of proof of vaccination that businesses will take in D.C.
The CDC suggests people take a photo of their COVID vaccine cards after receiving one to keep as a backup copy.
Immunization Record Print Out
The second acceptable type of proof of vaccination is a printout of a patient's immunization record from the patient portal of their vaccine/healthcare provider.
In D.C. people can sign up for DC MyIR, a web-based portal that provides residents a secure and easy way to access their official COVID vaccination records.
According to DC Health, DC MyIR, which stands for "My Immunization Record," was created to help people avoid the time-consuming process of trying to get immunization records from health-care providers.
Parents can also create a dashboard to have easy access to their vaccine records as well as add their children's records to one easy place.
People can register online and DC Health provides a handy step-by-step MyIR user guide here.
Digital Vaccine Passport
The third acceptable form of proof of vaccination status is using a digital vaccine passport through a verification app, such as VaxYes or CLEAR.
What if I lost my COVID vaccine card?
D.C., Maryland and Virginia all make it easy to find and print out your COVID-19 vaccination records. But, while they'll be official and accurate, the record you get will be a full sheet of paper, not the slightly larger-than-wallet-sized CDC card.
Both D.C. and Maryland use the same vaccine database website. If you've been vaccinated in either place, you can make an account on MyIR.net and print your COVID-19 vaccination records.
For those vaccinated in Virginia, simply enter your information into the commonwealth's immunization portal and print your vaccination records.