It’s tempting to laminate that vaccination card to help preserve it, just know that you might want to think twice before doing it.

With companies like Office Depot and Staples offering to do it for free, having it laminated is easy.

But CNN is reporting that there are concerns about the lamination process potentially damaging the cards or smudging the ink, rendering them illegible.

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The cards are seen by many to be a form of social currency, so it’s important to take good care of them. In the event that you decide to go forward with having your card laminated, be sure to have a backup.

Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, recommends taking pictures of your card each time you get a dose:

Take a picture after getting the first shot, then after the second one too, in case you lose the physical card. Keep the picture on your phone, and email yourself a copy to be safe.

Dr. Wen also recommends photocopying your card and storing it with other vital documents such as your birth certificate.

Obviously, if you do decide to go the lamination route, be sure to hold off until after you’ve gotten the second dose of the vaccine if you’re getting a two-dose vaccination.

In the event that your card is damaged, simply reach out to the dose provider to get a replacement.

If, for some reason, you’re unable to get in touch with your provider, check the CDC directory of state health department immunization information systems (IIS).

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

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