The precious paper card contains vital information including the brand of vaccine you received and the dates you were immunized. According to public health experts, it’s crucial to keep that information handy in case you need it to prove your vaccination status, or to streamline possible future booster shots.

Vaccination records can likely eventually be replaced if they are lost or damaged, but it is especially important to take good care of your vaccination records during this pandemic, when the country’s health care systems are stretched thin.

“A vaccination card is a tool that people can use to declare that they have some level of protection against COVID,” said John Brownstein, Ph.D., an ABC News contributor and epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Being able to assess immunity to COVID is a critical part of trying to resume our daily lives.”