Vaccination records lost: what should I do?
Have you lost your vaccination records? Comparis explains what to do in this case, and why myvaccines.ch is no longer a substitute for the traditional vaccination booklet.
25.07.2023
iStock/Ralf Geithe
1. Vaccination records lost in Switzerland: what can I do?
It’s a problem that many people in Switzerland have faced: not being able to find your vaccination records. Here’s what you can do:
Contact your family doctor: get in touch with your current or former go-to medical professional. This is usually the best point of contact for reconstructing your vaccination history.
Members of the army: check your military service booklet. The booklet only contains vaccinations received during military service. However, at least part of your vaccination history can be reconstructed in this way.
Get a blood sample taken: a blood test can provide some clues as to which vaccines you've received and shows how well a person is protected against a particular disease. However, blood samples do not provide any information about the number of vaccine doses administered.
Get new vaccinations: can’t reconstruct your vaccination history? If so, you can simply get vaccinated. This is usually safe.
Comparis tips
Take a photograph of your vaccination record or make a copy. This way, your data will be retained if you lose your vaccination certificate.
Keep your vaccination booklet and the copy together with other important documents. This will help you find them more quickly.
2. Information on the discontinued electronic vaccination record system
Digital vaccination records were available for a number of years at myvaccines.ch. Anyone living in Switzerland was able to enter all their immunizations in the online database, or ask a medical professional to do it for them. However, myvaccines.ch is now permanently offline.
Why was myvaccines.ch taken down?
The online magazine republik.ch (in German only) discovered that the site had serious security issues. Their report showed that the vaccination data could be manipulated.
As a result, the foundation behind the site had to shut it down. There is currently a court case running against the operator.
Can I access my data?
It is no longer possible to log in. The foundation stopped processing deletion and information requests on 24 August 2021. The reason given for this is the liquidation of the foundation, which means it cannot continue operating.
Since May 2023, the eHealth Aargau community has been working on the main project of saving the data on myvaccines.ch. This should enable users to exercise their data protection rights on a new platform. More specifically, this means that users can:
have their data deleted,
or
transfer it to an existing electronic patient record.
The new platform should be usable from autumn 2023.
Can I have my data deleted?
At this time, you cannot delete your data. This should be possible again from autumn 2023 with the new platform under development.
3. Are there any alternatives to electronic vaccination records?
There are currently no electronic alternatives to myvaccines.ch in Switzerland. The electronic patient record provides for the digitization of vaccination data from the end of 2023. The alternative is paper vaccination records.
4. International vaccination record
The international vaccination certificate is a vaccination booklet recognised by the WHO. Unlike the Swiss vaccination certificate, it is yellow. You will need it to travel to countries with mandatory vaccination for yellow fever.
In Switzerland, you can buy the international vaccination certificate in pharmacies or order it online.
This article was first published on 12.10.2021
