Viking NAAT Test?

[villager13]

We booked our Air independently and will fly into Vancouver the day before our cruise which leaves on a Thursday. Very confused in the wording for testing on Vikings pre-cruise document so looking for someone that has actually done it. Does Viking consider the NAAT test (given at Walgreens) a PCR test. You do get your results within hours but it’s not an antigen test? 

 No one can give us a straight answer! 

 

[PRH]

Ye#, NAAT is acceptable.  We had before our transatlantic and no issue as long as copy of lab report.

[villager13]

On 6/4/2022 at 1:35 PM, PRH said:

Ye#, NAAT is acceptable.  We had before our transatlantic and no issue as long as copy of lab report.

Thank you! 

[55Division]

While Walgreens administers the NAAT test, I'm not sure they provide a lab certified report for travel.

[duquephart]

I wonder how to find out. You damn sure aren't going to get a straight answer from Viking.

[SailorPaulH]

3 hours ago, 55Division said:

While Walgreens administers the NAAT test, I'm not sure they provide a lab certified report for travel.

From their site - for the drive through testing it states their PCR test is a lab test and 'meets pre-travel testing requirements: COVID-19 Testing | Select Location | Walgreens

 

CVS says the same for their drive-through PCR Lab Test.

 

[maryup]

We used wallgreens and received a paper copy of the results.  Had no problems with viking. They have their own in house lab

[keokukjoe]

maryup: Was that the NAAT or PCR test at Walgreen's?

[LindaS272]

They are the same thing.

[crimmj]

Below are the types of Covid  tests at Walgreens. PCR meets pre-travel testing requirements. The NAAT test meets MOST pre-travel testing requirements. Before our cruise in March I called Viking specifically to ask about Walgreens NAAT test and was told Viking would NOT accept it. Maybe things have changed?

PCR Laboratory Test

• ● Results typically available within 48 hours²
• ● Meets pre-travel testing requirements

• Rapid NAAT Test

  • ● Results available within 2 hours
  • ● Meets most pre-travel testing requirements; check with your destination to verify
•  

[CurlerRob]

3 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

They are the same thing.

Not quite. A PCR test is one form of a NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test). There are multiple other testing methods under the NAAT umbrella - from your CDC:

 

NAATs can use many different methods to amplify nucleic acids and detect the virus, including but not limited to:

 

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
Isothermal amplification including:
   Nicking endonuclease amplification reaction (NEAR)
   Transcription mediated amplification (TMA)
   Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)
   Helicase-dependent amplification (HDA)
   Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)
   Strand displacement amplification (SDA)

 

All NAATs for COVID detect viral RNA, whereas antigen tests detect the presence of a specific viral antigen - things produced by the virus' presence.

 

The OP's question was whether the rapid NAAT offered by Wallgreens was a PCR test, to conform with Viking's requirements. Walgreens web site is not definitive - it talks about a 48-hour PCR test (which would conform) as well as a rapid NAAT done in 2 hours, which is not defined. I'd guess that it might be a LAMP NAAT, common in point of care locations.

 

OP, if you are still concerned, I'd reach out to Walgreens and ask what the testing mechanism is for the 2-hour NAAT, then get an acceptance from Viking in writing. 🍺🥌  

[duquephart]

8 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

Not quite. A PCR test is one form of a NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test). There are multiple other testing methods under the NAAT umbrella - from your CDC:

 

NAATs can use many different methods to amplify nucleic acids and detect the virus, including but not limited to:

 

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
Isothermal amplification including:
   Nicking endonuclease amplification reaction (NEAR)
   Transcription mediated amplification (TMA)
   Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)
   Helicase-dependent amplification (HDA)
   Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)
   Strand displacement amplification (SDA)

 

All NAATs for COVID detect viral RNA, whereas antigen tests detect the presence of a specific viral antigen - things produced by the virus' presence.

 

The OP's question was whether the rapid NAAT offered by Wallgreens was a PCR test, to conform with Viking's requirements. Walgreens web site is not definitive - it talks about a 48-hour PCR test (which would conform) as well as a rapid NAAT done in 2 hours, which is not defined. I'd guess that it might be a LAMP NAAT, common in point of care locations.

 

OP, if you are still concerned, I'd reach out to Walgreens and ask what the testing mechanism is for the 2-hour NAAT, then get an acceptance from Viking in writing. 🍺🥌  

 

You're assuming that something in writing from Viking is worth the paper it's printed on. Bad assumption.

[keokukjoe]

11 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

They are the same thing.

No they aren't. Both are molecular tests but the PCR is is the gold standard with more accurate results than the NAAT. 

[shadowlover]

I find this helpful to answer the questions of whether the NAAT test is sensitive and specific.    Viking accepts an antigen test done within 24 hours and that is not as sensitive or specific as the NAAT.  

Anyway here are the links:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/naats.html

https://news.walgreens.com/our-stories/covid-omicron-subvariant-testing.htm

PCR is gold standard and will become positive even prior to symptoms in some people.  It can also stay positive for a long time in some people even after you are infectious.

[shadowlover]

It is hard to find out if PCR is the technique that walgreens uses for their NAAT but according to this article , PCR is the most commonly used NAAT technique for detecting specific nucleic acid in a sample.   If viking doesn't accept it, there is no common sense.  

Bon Voyage!!

[Twitchly]

I wouldn’t sweat it. I’ve yet to hear of anyone unable to board because they took the wrong test in the wrong time frame. Viking just tests you again regardless. 
 

That said, we plan to get a PCR/NAAT test rather than antigen before we go.
 

When I had COVID last month, my first two antigen tests (24 hours apart) came up negative. I then took a PCR test because I was pretty sure they were wrong, and sure enough, they were. The antigen test didn’t read positive until my symptoms were pronounced. 

 

So I’ll take a PCR test when the time comes to see if I’m still testing positive. No point in going if I am. 

[SailorPaulH]

20 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

I wouldn’t sweat it. I’ve yet to hear of anyone unable to board because they took the wrong test in the wrong time frame. Viking just tests you again regardless. 
 

That said, we plan to get a PCR/NAAT test rather than antigen before we go.
 

When I had COVID last month, my first two antigen tests (24 hours apart) came up negative. I then took a PCR test because I was pretty sure they were wrong, and sure enough, they were. The antigen test didn’t read positive until my symptoms were pronounced. 

 

So I’ll take a PCR test when the time comes to see if I’m still testing positive. No point in going if I am. 

I don't understand - if you just had COVID recently, why can't you just get a letter of recovery? Testing positive for months after an infection is not unusual.

[Twitchly]

1 hour ago, SailorPaulH said:

I don't understand - if you just had COVID recently, why can't you just get a letter of recovery? Testing positive for months after an infection is not unusual.

I have one, but I will miss Viking’s 90-day window by a couple of weeks. If they followed Canada and Austria (among other countries), I’d be good for 6 months. But nope.

[SailorPaulH]

2 hours ago, Twitchly said:

I have one, but I will miss Viking’s 90-day window by a couple of weeks. If they followed Canada and Austria (among other countries), I’d be good for 6 months. But nope.

What we need are cruises for fully vaxxed AND previously infected passengers 😜 - I would bet there would be little to no positives on such cruises. I think the most vulnerable are those without a prior infection and that is the population that is the remaining primary vector for spread, but time will tell.

[LindaS272]

8 hours ago, keokukjoe said:

No they aren't. Both are molecular tests but the PCR is is the gold standard with more accurate results than the NAAT. 

All I know is the PCR test I had at CVS in March was NAAT.

[SailorPaulH]

20 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

All I know is the PCR test I had at CVS in March was NAAT.

Same for me: CVS in April --- "SARS-COV-2 RNA, QL NAAT, RT PCR/TMA (COVID-19)"

 

[CurlerRob]

@LindaS272 and @SailorPaulH - you are both correct that your PCR tests were NAATs.

 

All PCR tests are NAATs (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test). Not all NAATs use the PCR method of amplification.

 

@keokukjoe - a PCR test is not "more accurate than the NAAT", as it is a form of NAAT. There is debate as to which of the multiple forms of NAAT tests are most accurate, with RT-PCR generally being viewed as the best. See post #11 for more details.

 

Back to the original OP post, which asked if the faster (2 hour) Walgreens test was acceptable to Viking. The 2 hour test is stated by Walgreens as a NAAT, but the method is not clear, and might not have been accepted by Viking if it was not the PCR method. Walgreens states their PCR test as 48 hours. 🍺🥌

[LindaS272]

Okay, I get it. I didn’t realize there was that nuance with the Walgreens test.

[villager13]

On 6/7/2022 at 11:44 PM, LindaS272 said:

Okay, I get it. I didn’t realize there was that nuance with the Walgreens test.

I called Walgreens and asked if their NAAT test is a PCR test and they said it is. Results within an hour. they also offer a PCR test that takes 48 hours so I’m confused! 
I plan on doing the NAAT 72 hours before we board to meet Vikings requirements for leaving out of Canada. I hope it’s accepted! 

[Haqdeluxe]

This COVID policy update may be of interest to you...

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/why-viking/health-and-safety/health-and-safety-program.html