Think Twice Before Sharing Your Covid-19 Vaccination Card on Social Media

Coronavirus particle, illustration. Different strains of coronavirus are responsible for diseases such as the common cold, gastroenteritis and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). A new coronavirus (2019-CoV) emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The virus causes a mild respiratory illness that can develop into pneumonia and be fatal in some cases. The coronaviruses take their name from their crown (corona) of surface proteins, which are used to attach and penetrate their host cells. Once inside the cells, the particles use the cells’ machinery to make more copies of the virus.

If you’re lucky enough to get a COVID-19 vaccine soon, you should resist the urge to post a photo of your vaccination card on social media. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) released a warning Friday (January 29th), stating, “The self-identifying information on [your vaccination card] makes you vulnerable to identity theft and can help scammers create phony versions. If your social media privacy settings aren’t set high, you may be giving valuable information away for anyone to use.” The worry is that the cards have full names and birthdays listed on them, along with where you received the vaccine. The BBB also cautions that scammers in Great Britain have already been caught selling fake vaccination cards on eBay and TikTok, and say that it’s only a matter of time before the same cons make their way to the U.S. If you want to share on social media that you’ve been vaccinated it’s safer to share your vaccine sticker or to use a frame around your profile photo instead. Here’s the complete story from Yahoo.

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Covid-19 Vaccination Card