Ah they went right after Christmas on the 26th.
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In our situation (USVI), weâre staying a month anyway. If I had to be in quarantine, Iâd rather do it in warmer weather with a great view. If we have to extend due to catching it in the latter part of our month, itâs no big deal - could even be welcome if spring gets delayed here in PA.
For our kids, theyâre moving to Puerto Rico, so theyâll be there for quite some time. I wish Puerto Rico werenât spiking as much as they are right now, but at least our kids are young, fully vaxxed, with boosters they just got last Friday - so should be as strong as they can be in a couple more weeks.
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Glad to see Phillyâs airport offers the testing on site and USVIâs site says it only takes 5 minutes to complete their entry portal. Weâll be in Philly a day early, so can get a test then. Any idea if I should be concerned about them being out of tests or âfull?â
Mulling whether to try for a test here or there⊠itâs easiest there, but not if they run out of slots or tests.
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Agreed. How it worked for us on our 2 week trip to the UK over Christmas with an ample supply (family all had multiple packs to share with us - we brought back another 50+ tests):
Day -2: Required pre-travel rapid test (using tests Iâd bought on prior UK trip)
Day 0: Departure
Day 1: Arrival and PCR test (pre-booked, in person, results by midnight)
Day 3: Rapid tests before visiting family
Day 6: Rapid tests before visiting rest of family
Days 7-12: Various rapid tests for those who had a cold
Day 14: Required pre-departure rapid tests
Day 15: Return to US
Day 16: More rapid tests due to cold symptoms
Day 17: Scheduled PCR tests before school starts
Over that period of 2.5 weeks, weâve taken a total of about 40 tests between the five of us. Although we were traveling and some of those were mandatory, that intensity of testing (every 2-3 days and whenever you see someone new) is typical for family members in the UK. One younger cousin did test positive after Christmas and fortunately knew about it in time to cancel a planned new year visit to the grandparents.
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We had our kids test after they arrived here after traveling/flying, before being around my 92 year old mom. Both were negative and none of us have had any colds (though H tested before we went to an event because his allergies were acting up and he wanted to be sure it wasnât something more). D did get a PCR test before going to a gathering of some friendsâthey all tested.
I bought 2 boxes (4 tests) Bianax Now from Samâs Club awhile back (Nov) and have 8 tests I got from a program where our state was offering them. S took 2 tests back home with him to DC and there are now 5 remaining tests at our home.
All of us have no symptoms, so we have no immediate plans for the tests. D will probably take some of them so she can test in connection with flying back to CA and she will need them to test when she flies back to hnl for several weddings.
False negatives with symptomatic Covid are not very common, especially on day 2. False negatives for some who tested positive on a PCR screening, but is asymptomatic, thatâs a different story.
âIâll just get a PCRâ isnât a great answer in many areas. Theyâre hard to get or the results take way too long to really be useful. If a symptomatic person is positive on a lateral flow test, you know what to do, without delay. If theyâre symptomatic and test negative, then jump through the PCR hoops. In my opinion, thatâs their place.
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BinaxNow tests currently available at Walmart.com.
I was able to order and can pickup tomorrow morning, Tuesday, at my locsl Walmart. Shopping to my house would push delivery out a week.
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Thanks! I found 4 kits for curbside pickup at Walmart closest to me. I have given most of my previously bought kits away.
Thx! Just grabbed some online. Hope the order goes through. Last time, I got an email from Walmart two hours later that said they had to cancel my order because they were sold out!
In September when my daughter felt sick and her doctor suggested she get tested, the only places to get tested near her home were drive thru. She lives in a big city and doesnât have a car. So she did not get tested (she was fine a day later, so she didnât have Covid).
Right before Thanksgiving, she had a close call (a co-worker was exposed but ended up negative), so she picked up a couple of at home test kits. Even then, she had to try a few CVS locations before she found them. She brought them with her when she visited for Christmas, but didnât need to use them. I am happy she has them in case she does need a test.
@MarylandJOE you were lucky to have test kits from Walmart available for pickup. I check Walmart periodically online, and while they are occasionally available for shipping, they are never available around here for pickup.
Incidentally, I noticed that the price of the Walmart Binax tests has suddenly gone up $5 - when I ordered some earlier this week they were $14.88 and now they are $19.88 (but not available).
Yeah, I was actually shocked at that option, store pickup. I was half asleep when I was ordering too so I had to double check.
I noticed the price increase to. The same tests elsewhere all seem to be over $20 and always out of stock so I guess itâs still not a bad deal.
They have curbside pickup here which is reassuring. Weâll see if they run out of stock before my pickup time today. The price went up at Walmart but is still $5 less than Walgreenâs, and Walgreenâs is out anyway.
@MarylandJOE you will get yours before I get mine. I think I ordered on Friday, was supposed to get them tomorrow, then that changed to Wednesday, and now delivery is said to be Thursday.
I wouldnât have been able to pick up today anyway. The two closest Walmarts are both a 30 minute drive and with the snowstorm raging right now, I wouldnât be able to make it to either.
When I go to Walmart dot com, it says Binax tests are out of stock. Checking local stores for pickup I find no tests available.
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I was not able to get any of the Binax tests at Walmart this time either. I noticed that Walmart has increased the price from $14 to $19.88. When I bought these from Walmart in November I paid $14 for them.
I have ordered these ones on Amazon for $17.98:
https://www.amazon.com/iHealth-COVID-19-Authorized-Non-invasive-Discomfort/dp/B09KZ6TBNY/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Testing+Kit&qid=1641224710&sr=8-3
AndâŠjust got the email that Walmart cancelled my order. Lol.
Iâve been seeing that recommendation on twitter too. Do you think it makes a difference whether the nose or throat gets swabbed first?
Seems to me the nose should be swabbed, then the throat. If thereâs more virus in the throat, why would you want to seed it into the nose by swabbing the throat first? I mean, if youâre positive, youâre positive, but couldnât you create more symptoms for yourself by spreading it mechanically? Either way, itâs off-putting, but people with sniffles often sniff inward and swallow it so it makes more sense to me to do the nose first.
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I had your exact same thoughts about seeding!
I think maybe itâs because a lot of times the swab is full of mucus if you do the nose first so maybe it wouldnât pick up much in the OP. But if thatâs not the case I would prefer to do the nose first. No guidance from the CDC but other countries do the OP first, I donât know why.
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Got a message that 2 out of 4 Binax kits are cancelled but I can still pick up 2.
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