24-Hour Return-to-US Test

[+ tassojunior]

I thought it would be helpful to get as many recommendations as possible for the test to come back into the US. This is the first article I've seen. (Note the Binax test mentioned is not the one sold in drugstores which does not qualify). 

[cany10011]

I've ordered the test kits for some upcoming trips. However, I suspect that I will be using an in-person service and keeping  the test kit as a back up. 

Edited December 8, 2021 by cany10011

[+ tassojunior]

14 hours ago, cany10011 said:

I've ordered the test kits for some upcoming trips. However, I suspect that I will be using an in-person service and keeping  the test kit as a back up. 

Good luck with timely in-person tests. They're harder to find than they should be and expensive. 

[mike carey]

1 hour ago, tassojunior said:

Good luck with timely in-person tests. They're harder to find than they should be and expensive. 

We are in an adjustment period with this virus (one of probably many). We don't know whether pre-travel testing will remain a requirement, and if so 24 or 72 hours or some other time. We are also yet to find out if testing will be an entry requirement in other circumstances (either as well as or as an alternative to vaccination). Until that becomes clear testing opportunities will remain challenging, by cost, availability or timeliness, or some combination of the three.

If it becomes clear that tests will continue to be required I would expect the time interval eventually to be standardised and for testing labs to provide publicly accessible testing targeted at meeting the time requirement (and meeting requirements for the format of certificates to facilitate check-in), and for many governments to cap prices or provide a service themselves.

I haven't seen any self-administered tests here that are accepted for travel, but I have seen international travel tests at pathology labs for about $AU150 that can be linked to your passport, but they are targeted at meeting the 72 hour timing. I'm reluctant to book any US travel until it's clear I can find a US-accepted 24 hour test that also meets Australian departure test requirements. (For domestic travel that requires a negative test, which apply for some interstate travel but not all, a notice from one of the free state-run testing sites set up to do the normal community testing is acceptable.)

[+ tassojunior]

13 minutes ago, mike carey said:

We are in an adjustment period with this virus (one of probably many). We don't know whether pre-travel testing will remain a requirement, and if so 24 or 72 hours or some other time. We are also yet to find out if testing will be an entry requirement in other circumstances (either as well as or as an alternative to vaccination). Until that becomes clear testing opportunities will remain challenging, by cost, availability or timeliness, or some combination of the three.

If it becomes clear that tests will continue to be required I would expect the time interval eventually to be standardised and for testing labs to provide publicly accessible testing targeted at meeting the time requirement (and meeting requirements for the format of certificates to facilitate check-in), and for many governments to cap prices or provide a service themselves.

I haven't seen any self-administered tests here that are accepted for travel, but I have seen international travel tests at pathology labs for about $AU150 that can be linked to your passport, but they are targeted at meeting the 72 hour timing. I'm reluctant to book any US travel until it's clear I can find a US-accepted 24 hour test that also meets Australian departure test requirements. (For domestic travel that requires a negative test, which apply for some interstate travel but not all, a notice from one of the free state-run testing sites set up to do the normal community testing is acceptable.)

ha! coming from Australia you'd have a pretty narrow boarding window for a 24-hour test. 

Edited December 9, 2021 by tassojunior

[mike carey]

6 minutes ago, tassojunior said:

ha! coming from Australia you'd have a pretty narrow boarding window for a 24-hour test. 

Indeed although I can typically depart at 10am and arrive at 6am the same day. Seriously, the 24 hours is before departure not arrival, and I read up thread (I think) that you have to have a test the calendar day before departure, so an evening departure widens the window a bit.

Still, the whole thing is making me hesitant. If I were determined to travel, or in the unlikely event that I needed to do so, entering the US in Honolulu or stopping for a couple of days in Vancouver would be options.

[Poppie]

I think this is Canadian based. Hope you all find this information helpful:

https://elnamedical.com/en/covid/

 

[thedanNYC]

5 hours ago, mike carey said:

We are in an adjustment period with this virus (one of probably many). We don't know whether pre-travel testing will remain a requirement, and if so 24 or 72 hours or some other time. We are also yet to find out if testing will be an entry requirement in other circumstances (either as well as or as an alternative to vaccination). Until that becomes clear testing opportunities will remain challenging, by cost, availability or timeliness, or some combination of the three.

If it becomes clear that tests will continue to be required I would expect the time interval eventually to be standardised and for testing labs to provide publicly accessible testing targeted at meeting the time requirement (and meeting requirements for the format of certificates to facilitate check-in), and for many governments to cap prices or provide a service themselves.

I haven't seen any self-administered tests here that are accepted for travel, but I have seen international travel tests at pathology labs for about $AU150 that can be linked to your passport, but they are targeted at meeting the 72 hour timing. I'm reluctant to book any US travel until it's clear I can find a US-accepted 24 hour test that also meets Australian departure test requirements. (For domestic travel that requires a negative test, which apply for some interstate travel but not all, a notice from one of the free state-run testing sites set up to do the normal community testing is acceptable.)

That's a key concern. Many countries' rules are constantly changing. When you're departing, some countries only have you comply with the rules of the country you're going to, other departure countries have you comply with their rules too. Some countries apply their rules to all arriving passengers even if they're only connecting there, while other don't depending on how long the layover is. 

So I wouldn't order test kits before understanding all applicable rules or too far ahead of the departure date in case those rules change.

As an aside, I've (unfortunately?) had to travel plenty since 2020. I've always been able to find affordable and timely in-person tests pretty easily. If anyone is abroad without a test kit and needs to figure out where to get an in-person test, I'd recommend: Googling > calling the US Embassy/Consulate > asking at a pharmacy > asking at a doctor's office > asking at a hospital. You'll likely get your answer without needing to go too far down the chain.

Edit to add: I just remembered that some airports offer quick tests that are valid for travel. So that may be a day-of-travel option depending on timing.

Edited December 9, 2021 by thedanNYC

[+ tassojunior]

8 hours ago, mike carey said:

Indeed although I can typically depart at 10am and arrive at 6am the same day. Seriously, the 24 hours is before departure not arrival, and I read up thread (I think) that you have to have a test the calendar day before departure, so an evening departure widens the window a bit.

Still, the whole thing is making me hesitant. If I were determined to travel, or in the unlikely event that I needed to do so, entering the US in Honolulu or stopping for a couple of days in Vancouver would be options.

Be careful about the days/hours of your test site also. I had found one at Heathrow going in but then found they were closed on Sunday, my intended arrival day, and sites in the city were hard to find. It's really a clusterfuck (as we Americans say). 

[mike carey]

14 hours ago, tassojunior said:

It's really a clusterfuck (as we Americans say). 

Not just Americans!

[+ tassojunior]

more bad news on the rapid tests today. I will say DC has free test kits at every public library somehow that have to be returned to a box at the library for testing.

WaPo:

Rapid coronavirus tests are still hard to find in many places, despite Biden’s pledges

President Biden announced last week that rapid coronavirus tests were a pillar of his plan to fight the new and potentially more transmissible omicron variant, now confirmed in at least 21 states.

But nearly a year into his administration, the availability of low-cost coronavirus tests that return results in as little as 15 minutes remains an oft-promised but still unrealized capability in large swaths of the country — a far cry from the situation in countries such as Britain and Singapore, where the government purchased the kits in the spring and distributed millions of them free or at low cost.

Many people in the United States cannot find the tests online or at retail stores because the kits are often out of stock — and when they do see them, consumers may be unable to buy them in quantity because of the cost, typically about $25 for a packet of two. That makes it impractical to urge all Americans to incorporate the tests into their daily routines — especially before going to work, traveling or gathering indoors with family members and friends — to avoid spreading the virus unintentionally, as many health experts now advise.

Read the full story

 

Edited December 17, 2021 by tassojunior

[MassageAdam]

On 12/8/2021 at 8:44 PM, tassojunior said:

Good luck with timely in-person tests. They're harder to find than they should be and expensive. 

I've traveled to Spain and Mexico and had absolutely no issues finding timely in-person testing.  

[John]

I just came back to the US from Germany.

-- there were at least 5 places where I could have a free Antigen test within a 5 minute walk from where I was staying in Berlin.

-- there was another next to check-in at the airport.

-- the 24-hour in advance is 24 hours in advance of the start of your journey.

[cany10011]

I'm going to Toronto to see my family. Already prebooked my test to return in January. Hopefully, testing requirements don't change by then!

Edited December 19, 2021 by cany10011

[+ tassojunior]

I have heard that more and more tests sites are opening in overseas airports for return-to-US tests. Very good news. 

[+ tassojunior]

story today on what happens when you test positive before your return to the US (spoiler- your vacation becomes much longer):

Most important you can get back into the US even if you don't have a negative test but do have a letter of recovery. 

You can get back into the US with a letter of recovery

My quarantine ended 13 days after the onset of symptoms. Even though a final antigen test came back positive, the World Health Organization and St. Lucian authorities deemed me no longer infectious after the prescribed 13 days.

The airline and U.S. government accepted my recovery letter from the Health Ministry in lieu of a negative COVID-19 test to reenter the country.

 

 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I just came back to the US from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

I walked-in (no appointment) to a clinic next to the gay bars, paid $28 USD, and had my negative test results in hand within 10 minutes.

[John]

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Posted January 26

I just came back to the US from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

I walked-in (no appointment) to a clinic next to the gay bars, paid $28 USD, and had my negative test results in hand within 10 minutes.

 

Yes, the one you used may have been quick, but most are not.  I had an antigen test in PV last Friday at 6pm and was only promised the results by 9pm.  I thought this very slow.  Through googling I saw that many are even slower.

So:  plan ahead boys.

[coriolis888]

For United Airlines passengers traveling to foreign destinations:

United sells a pack of tests (minimum of six tests) for $150.00.

A passenger takes the unused tests (or how many the passenger might need) along to the foreign destination.  

When the passenger plans to return to the U.S. (the day of the flight or the day before) the passenger uses a cellphone with a camera lens turned on to call a toll free number of the laboratory that is affiliated with the tests.  

While on the video phone call with a laboratory employee, the passenger points the camera at the test and swab so that the laboratory employee can watch the test being administered.  After ten or fifteen minutes on the phone together, the laboratory employee looks at the test vial.  If the test shows negative, the laboratory sends an e-mail (and enters the negative test result) to the passenger.  

According to United Airlines, the test is acceptable by CDC to return to the U. S. 

Here is a link to the test, if anyone is curious.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2021/05/12/united-airlines-and-abbott-labs-offer-international-passengers-cdc-blessed-covid-19-home-testing/?sh=302e7f365549

Edited March 5, 2022 by coriolis888
grammar

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

If you're at a hotel, or even an airbnb, the front desk or host can usually arrange a nurse to come to your room and administer a test with results later that day.

 I've done this all over the world since it's become the norm.  It's like clockwork. 

[coriolis888]

On 3/1/2022 at 6:29 PM, Benjamin_Nicholas said:

If you're at a hotel, or even an airbnb, the front desk or host can usually arrange a nurse to come to your room and administer a test with results later that day.

 I've done this all over the world since it's become the norm.  It's like clockwork. 

Prior to United Airlines selling Covid tests that are used in privacy in a foreign country and are acceptable for return travel to the U.S, from an International trip, I used the services of hotels where a nurse or medical employee came to the hotel and administered a test and furnished a negative Covid confirmation.  However, the cost of that private service was around $250.00 and sometimes $300.00. 

Considering the United Airlines tests cost $25.00 including the Covid virus clearance, I cannot see the point in spending an extra $225.00 or $250.00  for someone to come to my hotel when I can do an equivalent test in privacy via the Whatsapp photo with a medical person watching on a video screen while I do the test.  I later receive an e-mail clearance from the medical laboratory that is associated with the United Airlines tests and which are acceptable for return to the U.S., assuming the test is negative.   

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2021/05/12/united-airlines-and-abbott-labs-offer-international-passengers-cdc-blessed-covid-19-home-testing/?sh=302e7f365549

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

6 hours ago, coriolis888 said:

Prior to United Airlines selling Covid tests that are used in privacy in a foreign country and are acceptable for return travel to the U.S, from an International trip, I used the services of hotels where a nurse or medical employee came to the hotel and administered a test and furnished a negative Covid confirmation.  However, the cost of that private service was around $250.00 and sometimes $300.00. 

Considering the United Airlines tests cost $25.00 including the Covid virus clearance, I cannot see the point in spending an extra $225.00 or $250.00  for someone to come to my hotel when I can do an equivalent test in privacy via the Whatsapp photo with a medical person watching on a video screen while I do the test.  I later receive an e-mail clearance from the medical laboratory that is associated with the United Airlines tests and which are acceptable for return to the U.S., assuming the test is negative.   

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2021/05/12/united-airlines-and-abbott-labs-offer-international-passengers-cdc-blessed-covid-19-home-testing/?sh=302e7f365549

Throughout MX and South America, it's $14-20 USD.  I've never paid more.

Europe is, yes, pricier.  However, it's never been more than $100 USD in my experience.

[SirBillybob]

I just spent hundreds of testing dollars getting to Brazil for a few months and back to Canada. Soon headed to Switzerland where pre-departure testing for entry has been removed. And Canada to announce tomorrow the lifting of testing requirement for entry to Canada, likely to commence by the end of March, if vaccinated. Spot testing on arrival likely to persist but that is free of charge. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by SirBIllybob