How to replace an immunization card
An Immunization card is like a passport through life, which one needs in order to conduct business especially to do further educational studies at home or abroad.
However, while some parents tend to keep this important document safe for their children, there are others who are negligent. All Woman spoke with Dr Karen Lewis-Bell, Director of Family Health Services in the Ministry of Health to see how one can replace the card if lost.
She said that persons who have lost the card can first return to the clinic or private doctor’s office where they got it initially. “Usually the records are there and they can try to get the information and a new card can be filled out with the information on file,” she said.
What if the clinic or doctor’s office no longer exists?
“If they went to a particular Health Centre and the record is not available, they may want to go to the parish’s health department. Sometimes if the health centre doesn’t have the record they may keep the files at the Health Department,” said Lewis-Bell.
She added that persons needed to know the name of the health centre and when they got the card so that the information can be tracked. The records of these health departments would go very far back, she said.
Another alternative would be checking the schools that were attended by the child or adult as these should have a copy of the immunization card on file. Although at times this is not done, she said.
“Schools don’t always keep copies of the immunization card. The immunization card must be shown on entry to the school because by law the child must be fully immunized in order to enter school. So schools should insist on getting a copy of the immunization card and keeping it on file,” she added.
But if all this fails, the Family Health Director explained, then the person would have to get the shots again.
“If it is not from a Government facility and it is a private doctor then they may want to go back to the private doctor. Now if they can’t find any of the records that way then they might need to go over the immunizations again and get a new record,” she said. “If we don’t have the record and we don’t know, we can’t take their word for it. Without actually written proof. we don’t know.”
She stressed that there should be no charge to the public to replace the card. “I know some regional authorities have instituted some fees on it, but that is not a policy of the Ministry of Health and we have advised them not to do that,” she said.
She listed some of the critical shots that an adult may need to go over as a dose of Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, tetanus and polio.
Depending on the work that the adult does, she said, for example, if the person is in the police force, or is employed as a health care worker or fireman it would be essential for him or her to get a Hepatitis B vaccine as well.
Dr Lewis-Bell also stressed the importance of keeping this document safe. “It is very important to keep the immunization card safe and keep in plastic to prevent it from being destroyed by the elements. They should keep it in a zip lock bag if they have one or a thick plastic bag that is taped to keep it from getting wet,” she said.
