Businesses and venues may be more likely to accept a scan.

    If you have been vaccinated and were given a paper card to show as proof, you might want to keep a digital version on the one thing you always have access to quickly: your smartphone.

   While there are no standard rules when it comes to proving that you’ve been fully vaccinated, some venues, restaurants, events, and businesses may accept a photo of your card, but some will not. At the very least you should keep a backup of your card on your phone.

   Many people are simply taking a photograph of their card but scanning the card may look more official to the person requesting vaccination proof.

   To scan a vaccine card on an iPhone use the following steps:

• Using the Apple Notes app, create a new note and give it a name that’s easy for you to find
• Choose the camera icon from the options and select “scan documents”
• Place the vaccination card on a flat surface (preferably a dark flat surface)
• Point the camera at the card
• The app will determine the corners of the card and snap a photo
• Do this with the front and back sides of the vaccination card
• The scan is saved in your Notes app
• If you have many notes pin your vaccination card note
• With that note opened, select options and choose “pin”
• Now whenever you open the Notes app your vaccine card scan will be at the top

On an Android device:

• Scan the card with the Google Photo Scan app (you may need to download it)
• Place the card on a flat dark surface
• The Google Scan app will ask you to move circles displayed on the screen to the corners of the scan
• Once that is done the scan is saved in your Google Drive
• Open the file and save it to Google Keeps
• Open in Google Keeps and pin it to the top 
• The vaccine card will be the first item you see when you open Google Keeps
• This may be different on older Android devices

Scans look more official than photographs and you may have more success with some businesses asking for proof of vaccination.

If you’re traveling, it is best to keep the paper copy (laminated hopefully) in a safe place. For concerts, sporting events, and venues asking for proof ahead of time, check to see if they’ll accept a digital scan of the card. Since there are no general rules, some places will accept them while others will not.

It’s also important to have the digital version easily accessible if you’re in a line with many people waiting behind you.

Apple is reportedly including a feature in iOS 15 that will keep a verified proof of vaccination within the Health app. iOS 15 is expected to be released in October.