Once you have your COVID-19 vaccination card from the CDC (and you do have one, right?) some people are recommending that you take a photo of it, so you have a copy on your iPhone.

That’s not a bad idea, and will probably serve you well until the government comes up with a more uniform (and secure) method of proving your vaccinated. (As a small business owner, I hope they hurry and do so.)

I think a better idea, though, is to use the iPhone scanner feature to save an image of the card in the Notes app. Briefly:

1. Open Notes, then tap the New Note button.
2. Enter a heading for the note, such as “COVID Vaccine.”
3. Tap the Camera button in the Notes app, then tap Scan Document.

When you’re done, you’ll have a nice tidy scan of your vaccination card. (You might as well scan both sides of it, or better yet, scan your loved ones’ cards, so you have them handy if needed.)

This method is better than just snapping a photo because the scanner creates a better copy. Also, thanks to the heading you added to the note, now you can find it a lot faster than if it were just one of a zillion pictures in the Photos app. Just type “covid” or “vaccine” into the iPhone search field, and it pops right up. Easy-peasy.