Are you using CVS for the rapid antigen test

[Biker19]

9 minutes ago, rudeney said:

Or would you "take no chances" and assume that a positive test means you should stay home?  

I wouldn’t assume anything- follow up an antigen test with a PCR one to confirm. 

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, rudeney said:

 

I guess if you are in an area with high transmission rates then you may not be lying.  Where I am, we have very low transmission rates.  Our county has low double-digit positive test rates, less than 3 hospitalizations per week, and currently only 1 ICU bed with a COVID-positive patient.  

 

Keep in mind with more and more people testing at home the reported cases are much lower than actual positive cases.     If you test positive at home you don't have to report that to anyone unless you need medical attention and most people that test positive are either mildly sick with a cold or are asymptomatic.

[lovesthebeach2]

Where we are it’s very very difficult to get antigen test. Most CVS and all Walgreens are only doing PCR tests

[rudeney]

7 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Keep in mind with more and more people testing at home the reported cases are much lower than actual positive cases.     If you test positive at home you don't have to report that to anyone unless you need medical attention and most people that test positive are either mildly sick with a cold or are asymptomatic.

 

I can see that, but I suspect most people who have a positive at-home test will go for a professionally-administered test to confirm, or seek treatment if they are sick.  When I had COVID-19 back in Nov. 2020, I didn't get tested because it was "just a cold" and I didn't want to be one of "those people" who ran out for a test at every sniffle.  Since I WFH, I just didn't get out (the same as I would do when having any contagious disease).   My infection was confirmed a week later with an antibody test.

 

We have a stash of those free tests they sent us and we joke about using them everytime one of us says we have a headache or coughs and sneezes.  So far, they have remained sealed and unused.

[graphicguy]

Cruise lines are still requiring COVID testing before boarding.  My insurance covers my tests.  Matter of fact, if I wanted to get tested every day, I'd be covered.

 

No need to be a liar about it.

 

Fact is, if you're flying into your embarkation site, in line at the embarkation pier, have been to the grocery store, your church, a restaurant, if you have cardiac issues, if you're asthmatic, etc....you qualify for getting a COVID test.  If the cost is covered, all the better.

 

Personally, I know of NO ONE who has lied about their risk factors to get a free COVID test.

 

 

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, rudeney said:

Just another thought...has anyone considered scheduling two tests with 2 days of a cruise?  Given that you have a more than 1 in 100 chance of a "false positive", would you want to have a 2nd test lined up in case of that situation?  Or would you "take no chances" and assume that a positive test means you should stay home?  

If your first test is positive and the second test is negative, and you truthfully answer the health questionnaire (did you test positive in the past 10 (or is it 14?) days?), you will be denied boarding.

 

Edit:  I don't recall the wording of the question.

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Another_Critic

[poocher]

False or not, if you aren’t lying on the health questionnaire, a positive test precludes you from cruising.

[rudeney]

Just now, Another_Critic said:

If your first test is positive and the second test is negative, and you truthfully answer the health questionnaire (did you test positive in the past 10 (or is it 14?) days?), you will be denied boarding.

 

That makes sense.  I play by the rules and don't lie, but it is frustrating to know that a planned (and well-deserved!) vacation can be cancelled because of a test that has a nearly 2% chance of being inaccurate and is becoming harder to obtain (at least around here, most places have stopped doing asymptomatic testing).

[rudeney]

10 minutes ago, poocher said:

False or not, if you aren’t lying on the health questionnaire, a positive test precludes you from cruising.

Yeah, I forgot about the questionnaire.  

[DerekB]

14 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

That makes sense.  I play by the rules and don't lie, but it is frustrating to know that a planned (and well-deserved!) vacation can be cancelled because of a test that has a nearly 2% chance of being inaccurate and is becoming harder to obtain (at least around here, most places have stopped doing asymptomatic testing).

 

Your false positive information is, rather ironically, false. Below is from the peer-reviewed Journal of American Medicine. It found a false-positive rate from antigen test as being .05% (that's 1 in 2000, not 1 in 50 as you claim). That's before factoring in that 60% of those came from the same bad batch of tests. Without those 60% you're talking less than 1 per ship. 

 

There were 903 408 rapid antigen tests conducted for 537 workplaces, with 1322 positive results (0.15%), of which 1103 had PCR information. Approximately two-thirds of screens were trackable with a lot number. The number of false-positive results was 462 (0.05% of screens and 42% of positive test results with PCR information). Of these, 278 false-positive results (60%) occurred in 2 workplaces 675 km apart run by different companies between September 25 and October 8, 2021. All of the false-positive test results from these 2 workplaces were drawn from a single batch of Abbott’s Panbio COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device.

Edited April 14, 2022 by DerekB
added more info

[orville99]

1 hour ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Where we are it’s very very difficult to get antigen test. Most CVS and all Walgreens are only doing PCR tests

We get ours done at the CVS on 192 across from camping world - have one scheduled for tomorrow. 

[lovesthebeach2]

21 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We get ours done at the CVS on 192 across from camping world - have one scheduled for tomorrow. 

The CVS by Poinciana Blvd? That has never been an option for us which is fairly close to where we live, but managed to get a test at a CVS which is a bit of a ride from us by Partin Settlement and 192 for next Thursday.

 

you must live close to us 

Edited April 14, 2022 by lovesthebeach2

[Sunshine3601]

Out of curiosity I just tried my local cvs for rapid antigen test and if I answered that I was not exposed and not testing due to high transmission levels then I would be charged $139 as self-pay and says I can submit the claim to my insurance company. 

If I check off Yes to either of those first couple of questions then I qualify to go inside to the minute clinic for a free test.   

For our March 20th cruise we had been booked at CVS but it was cancelled the day before our appt so we went to Walgreens.     

 

Our Son and his Fiance went to their local CVS and they had trouble getting their results.    Took over a day of phone calls until they finally received the email they needed of the lab report.    While on the phone they were told in the process of updating their system and will start charging for testing and stop doing the drive thru tests as it jams up the pharmacy and majority of people getting testing are for travel. 

 

Walgreens is still free in my area.    so if still needed and still available for our next cruise I will just use Walgreens or use one of the emed kits we have that expire in November.    I have been saving those emed kits just in case public testing became an issue in finding.    Looks like that is starting to happen.      

 

 

[orville99]

17 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

The CVS by Poinciana Blvd? That has never been an option for us which is fairly close to where we live, but managed to get a test at a CVS which is a bit of a ride from us by Partin Settlement and 192 for next Thursday.

 

you must live close to us 

We are up in Celebration. We use the one by Poinciana Bv when we can, and the one on 192 down by Partin Settlement when that one is not available. We have also used the one in Hunter's Creek in the Target plaza.

 

What I find is that if I go into their booking system as soon as the date becomes available I can usually have a variety of options among those three sites. We booked our tests for tomorrow at around 7AM on April 2, nd almost the entire day was available for booking.

[lovesthebeach2]

16 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We are up in Celebration. We use the one by Poinciana Bv when we can, and the one on 192 down by Partin Settlement when that one is not available. We have also used the one in Hunter's Creek in the Target plaza.

 

What I find is that if I go into their booking system as soon as the date becomes available I can usually have a variety of options among those three sites. We booked our tests for tomorrow at around 7AM on April 2, nd almost the entire day was available for booking.

Oddly we don’t see all the CVS stores in my list. Good luck on your test and have a great cruise. 

[poocher]

21 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We are up in Celebration. We use the one by Poinciana Bv when we can, and the one on 192 down by Partin Settlement when that one is not available. We have also used the one in Hunter's Creek in the Target plaza.

 

What I find is that if I go into their booking system as soon as the date becomes available I can usually have a variety of options among those three sites. We booked our tests for tomorrow at around 7AM on April 2, nd almost the entire day was available for booking.

Just how it was up here in CT last month.  Two weeks out, dozens of appointments available.

[mac_tlc]

We have noticed less CVS's doing tests lately, probably since Federal money has dried up a bit. In January, we scheduled them in Orlando 13 days before we needed them, right as the date opened up. Plenty of appts in Lake Nona area. Tried to do the same for our March 27 sailing and they had no rapid tests, only PCR. Walgreens had them, but they only book a week out. 

 

We have an Oasis cruise on 5/1, so I would normally book something at CVS on 4/16 for 4/29. We are in CT now. Seems to be none available more than a week out. PCR's available all over the place. Guess I'll be checking every day starting this Saturday. Fall back would be eMed so long as I can get them in time. 

 

 

mac_tlc

[LaCal]

18 hours ago, rudeney said:

So in other words, lie so that your insurance company and the government pays for your test?

It’s not lying by answering Yes to number one:

 

The question is Are you seeking a Covid test because of high transmission rates or difficulty maintaining social distancing 

 

Heck here going to a movie or grocery store fits with not maintaining social distancing lately 

 

So answering Yes is not scamming the system 

[ptf2009]

18 hours ago, rudeney said:

So in other words, lie so that your insurance company and the government pays for your test?

No, it is not lying at all...if you read the first question it does pertain to all of cruisers....we will all be susceptible because we are going to be around lots of people for a period of time.

[OCSC Mike]

4 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Where we are it’s very very difficult to get antigen test. Most CVS and all Walgreens are only doing PCR tests

I live close enough to the Magic Kingdom that I hear the fireworks every night and I have multiple Walgreens within 10 minutes of me that do rapid NAAT tests.

Edited April 14, 2022 by OCSC Mike

[lovesthebeach2]

11 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

I live close enough to the Magic Kingdom that I hear the fireworks every night and I have multiple Walgreens within 10 minutes of me that do rapid NAAT tests.

I never had luck with Walgreens, but oddly when I go to CVS exactly 2 weeks prior like 5am, I still don’t see all the choices around Kissimmee. My choices are limited.

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

I never had luck with Walgreens, but oddly when I go to CVS exactly 2 weeks prior like 5am, I still don’t see all the choices around Kissimmee. My choices are limited.

Weird that it varies that much from one area to the next. I'm in Horizon West.

[luv4cruises]

6 hours ago, rudeney said:

Just another thought...has anyone considered scheduling two tests with 2 days of a cruise?  Given that you have a more than 1 in 100 chance of a "false positive", would you want to have a 2nd test lined up in case of that situation?  Or would you "take no chances" and assume that a positive test means you should stay home?  

You then would have to lie on the health questionnaire required 24 hours before embarkation that specifically asks if you have tested positive. 

[mets07]

I have had no problem with CVS appointments and testing for cruising over the last several months. No cancellations, no charges. Who knows. Perhaps our proximity to NYC. 

[rudeney]

7 hours ago, DerekB said:

 

Your false positive information is, rather ironically, false....

 

Statistically speaking, my information is rather correct, and as the prevalence of active infection decreases, false positives will increase.  The reason for this has to do with how that is calculated.  This will explain it:

 

https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202006.0279/v1/download

 

Basically, the PCR test has a higher level of accuracy, but it is still only has a 98% specificity when 50% of test subjects are infected.  As infection rates fall, specificity drops.  The FDA knows this and they attempted to help solve this by dropping approval for one of the CPR test that had a 95% specificity, leaving the others that are greater than 95%, but only close to 98%.