For those who have tested at CVS - a couple of questions

[handbellplayer]

I have made appointments at CVS for our pre-cruise COVID test (rapid antigen) for two weeks from yesterday.  I know mileage may vary, but in general:  1) How long did the test itself take (waiting an testing) and 2) how long did you wait for results?  We are on a tight schedule that day and need to plan accordingly.

 

I have purchased the home tests as a backup.  Should I make appointments at Walgreen's in case CVS cancels?  Am I overthinking and overplanning? 😁

[emory2001]

We got in right at our appointment time. The testing itself took 10-15 minutes for 4 of us. The adults’ results came within an hour, the kids results took a few hours. For some reason, it’s pretty common for the kids’ results to take longer. I had backup home tests too. I don’t think it’s necessary to have Walgreens as a backup. We’ve done CVS twice for cruising since the restart.

[CruiseOrRust]

2 minutes ago, handbellplayer said:

I have made appointments at CVS for our pre-cruise COVID test (rapid antigen) for two weeks from yesterday.  I know mileage may vary, but in general:  1) How long did the test itself take (waiting an testing) and 2) how long did you wait for results?  We are on a tight schedule that day and need to plan accordingly.

 

I have purchased the home tests as a backup.  Should I make appointments at Walgreen's in case CVS cancels?  Am I overthinking and overplanning? 😁

We have tested via Rapid Antigen test three times at CVS in the Atlanta area (not for a cruise, but just the same).  Each time it took no longer than 10-15 minutes to wait & get tested.  We didn't have to wait for the results.  We downloaded the CVS MyChart app to our phones and had results in the app within 2 hours each time.

[chiguy67]

We have taken quite a few at both CVS and Walgreens and they take 10-15 for the test and the results are usually anywhere from 15-60 minutes.

[orville99]

The last three times we tested at CVS we were in and out in 15 minutes and had a text and email with the results by the time we got home 20 minutes later.

[Tljcruiser]

Tested at CVS in East TN the first time in October.  They took us both early, it took less than 10 min to get both people tested, received a phone call 10 min later saying both negative.  Received the text shortly thereafter.  Tested again 12/17, in and out in less than 10 minutes. Never received a phone call.  I received the text for myself about an hour later.  The one for my daughter did not come for another 30-45 minutes.  

[topnole]

Do they charge for it?   I assume not, but at what point do tests of convenience get in the way of the system testing those that are currently sick and need testing?  Just read a story about hours long lines and sick people losing consciousness waiting.  In a surge such as this you’d think priorities would go to those most in need and lastly for those needing it to take a vacation.  

[orville99]

4 minutes ago, topnole said:

Do they charge for it?   I assume not, but at what point do tests of convenience get in the way of the system testing those that are currently sick and need testing?  Just read a story about hours long lines and sick people losing consciousness waiting.  In a surge such as this you’d think priorities would go to those most in need and lastly for those needing it to take a vacation.  

There is no charge for these tests, and because you make your appointments ~two weeks out from your testing date, the operational model is substantially different from the public mass testing sites. Crowds seem to follow the news media. When a media outlet starts telling horror stories of long waits, everyone seems to crowd those same sites while sites in neighboring counties remain relatively uncrowded. i.e. Orange County FL has massive crowds and long waits while the next county over - Seminole - seems to have few if any crowds. Osceola county is pretty much the same as Seminole. Chalk it up to herd mentality I guess...

[HicksRA]

You have an appointment.  No lines. You’re the only one scheduled for your time. 
We’ve never been charged. 

[Arubamoose]

We travelled to Aruba back in November and used CVS.  Booked our slots two weeks out. 

We had used Walgreens on a previous trip but could not make appointments more than three days out and the locations were not as convenient as the last time.

Tested on Thursday AM for a Saturday flight.  DH got results in 24 hours.  Mine took until Friday afternoon.  Talk about anxiety!!

[Jingerwoppy]

We have a local place that we will use and then save our home tests as a backup or to test after the cruise. From reading other threads I get the impression that CVS has a bad habit of canceling (has that changed?) so I'd schedule a backup at Walgreens just in case. 

[packedandready]

Husband and I had appointments for 10:00 and 10:30. They didn't call him in until about 10:15, he was out in less than 5 minutes. He told them I was also there, but they said they'd call me when they were ready. I got called at almost 11:00. He got his results in about an hour, mine took almost 4 hours. I'd keep the walgreen's appointment just in case the CVS appointment get cancelled.

[Illbcruzn4life]

the cvs I made an appointment for you had to go through the drive thru and administer the test yourself while the cvs employee instructed you on what to do next. At no time did the cvs employee touch the open kit.

 

Interesting reading on how others are doing it.

[Ashland]

CVS ... do they then email you the results? I would like to print out the hard copy to bring with me to the terminal.

[caribill]

When you make the booking at CVS or Walgreens do they give you the option of reserving for the rapid antigen test or do you not have a choice?

[Honolulu Blue]

14 hours ago, handbellplayer said:

I have made appointments at CVS for our pre-cruise COVID test (rapid antigen) for two weeks from yesterday.  I know mileage may vary, but in general:  1) How long did the test itself take (waiting an testing) and 2) how long did you wait for results?  We are on a tight schedule that day and need to plan accordingly.

 

I went to CVS for a rapid antigen test in October.  I arrived, checked in, tested, and left in about 15 minutes.  The test results arrived in about 40 minutes.

 

There are a couple of gotchas to note about testing at CVS.  First, they do occasionally cancel appointments.  I booked mine two weeks out, and they canceled the location I initially chose for the test because they decided not to do the rapid test at that location any longer.  Fortunately I was able to immediately rebook at a location about 5 miles away.  The second gotcha is that not all CVS locations do the rapid antigen test.  The location I tested at was about an hour away from home, and I literally passed a dozen CVS locations to get there.

13 hours ago, topnole said:

Do they charge for it?   I assume not, but at what point do tests of convenience get in the way of the system testing those that are currently sick and need testing?  Just read a story about hours long lines and sick people losing consciousness waiting.  In a surge such as this you’d think priorities would go to those most in need and lastly for those needing it to take a vacation. 

 

I was asked for my insurance information when I made the appointment.  No further info was taken at the testing location, no payment was asked for, and my insurance company has not billed me.

5 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

the cvs I made an appointment for you had to go through the drive thru and administer the test yourself while the cvs employee instructed you on what to do next. At no time did the cvs employee touch the open kit.

 

Interesting reading on how others are doing it.

 

Those aren't the conditions of the rapid antigen test I took at CVS.  I went to two buildings - one was a very small, cheapie storefront; and the other (where I tested) was even more temporary - like a port-a-potty.  This wasn't a drive-through, though they did offer that at that location.

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

CVS ... do they then email you the results? I would like to print out the hard copy to bring with me to the terminal.

 

1 hour ago, caribill said:

When you make the booking at CVS or Walgreens do they give you the option of reserving for the rapid antigen test or do you not have a choice?

 

CVS did e-mail me the results.  I know at CVS you can choose the type of test you want and then choose the location from there.  Again, be aware that most CVS locations don't do the rapid antigen test, and you might have to travel quite a distance to find one that does.

[topnole]

14 hours ago, orville99 said:

There is no charge for these tests, and because you make your appointments ~two weeks out from your testing date, the operational model is substantially different from the public mass testing sites. Crowds seem to follow the news media. When a media outlet starts telling horror stories of long waits, everyone seems to crowd those same sites while sites in neighboring counties remain relatively uncrowded. i.e. Orange County FL has massive crowds and long waits while the next county over - Seminole - seems to have few if any crowds. Osceola county is pretty much the same as Seminole. Chalk it up to herd mentality I guess...

In my area you can’t get a test anywhere near.  That is why folks are going to the public testing sites.   It has zero to do with the media IMO.  I say that for two reasons.  First, there are way to many sick people that want a test and not near enough spaces available at pharmacies such as CVS.  Second, it makes zero sense that people watch the news about horror stories about lines and then decided that is where they want to go to get tested.  

[emory2001]

7 hours ago, Ashland said:

CVS ... do they then email you the results? I would like to print out the hard copy to bring with me to the terminal.

They text you a link, and you can access it through your CVS My Chart account. The printout looks best if you do it on a desktop computer. It has the CVS logo and a big NEGATIVE at the top.

[emory2001]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

When you make the booking at CVS or Walgreens do they give you the option of reserving for the rapid antigen test or do you not have a choice?

Yes, when you make the appointment online you choose the type of test you want, and how long the results take for each type, and it will show you the locations that offer that test. 

[kearney]

15 minutes ago, emory2001 said:

They text you a link, and you can access it through your CVS My Chart account. The printout looks best if you do it on a desktop computer. It has the CVS logo and a big NEGATIVE at the top.

We were on the road when we got our results... I logged onto the app and emailed the pdf of the results and at the pier I just showed them my phone. That was okay

[whyrlygig]

Each and every time we have tried to schedule a test at CVS (3 different locations) they cancel the appt the day before.  We gave up and have been using home tests instead.  

 

[topnole]

17 hours ago, HicksRA said:

You have an appointment.  No lines. You’re the only one scheduled for your time. 
We’ve never been charged. 

So maybe at a certain point they will start charging if you need a test for travel.  In fairness, why should insurance pay for a test of convenience. That could be the next shoe to drop from the government on the industry.   If that happens, I’m sure it will happen right before we need to test for our cruise later this year.  
 

Of course people could always lie about the reasons, but when cruising there is a lot of documentation the government collects so they would know who falsified their surveys (if they wanted to know).  

[satxdiver]

The government will pay for the test if one does not have insurance otherwise the insurance is required to pay for it.  The more that people are tested, the more they find people who are positive and hopefully get them quarantined preventing the spread of the virus.  It is in our best interest that the spread of the virus is stopped and for that reason the government is encouraging everyone to be tested on a regular basis paying for it to remove all obstacles.  

 

We have been tested three times so far for three cruises at CVS.  We make appointments near the same time.  When we arrive at CVS they asked us if we both were present and took us at the same time.  It took about 15 minutes for both.  We like to do the test early in the morning and schedule the first time available two weeks in advance.  The results are texted to our cell phones in less than one hour.  I move the text messages to the computer and print it out.  The first time we used the text message and it was a huge pain as we balanced carryon luggage,  boarding pass on the app, passports and medical equipment.  We went to printed copies of everything and just had it in hand for them.  So much easier.  

[Ashland]

5 hours ago, emory2001 said:

They text you a link, and you can access it through your CVS My Chart account. The printout looks best if you do it on a desktop computer. It has the CVS logo and a big NEGATIVE at the top.

I just made our appointment with our local CVS for Jan 15th for our Jan 17th cruise. Much easier than I thought and had my choice of times.

I will print it out from my desktop.

Thank you !!

[Painter4me]

My husband had an appt this morning at Walgreens for a covid test.  He received a call from them telling him not to show up bc they didn’t have anyone to perform the tests and go back on line and reschedule.  Perfect example of why I’m buying mine proctored kit. He made the appt bc he was having symptoms, not for pre-cruise. Bought an at home test and he’s negative. We cruise at the end of the month and will now be doing proctored.