USA Today reporting tests hard to find

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, Socalf1fan said:

Has anyone here cruised recently and used the emed home tests to pass the pre-cruise testing successfully? I would feel better ordering them if I knew Carnival for sure accepts them. Id rather not show up on embarkation day in November and have them tell us to take a hike if we do the emed proctored test.

As often as rules and protocols are changing, anyone's current experience is not likely to reflect the requirements that will be in place in November.  You're better off re-checking the requirements on Carnival's website closer to your cruise date.

[sanger727]

14 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

Well I am confused. Are there more than one type of Binex NOW home test kits? This is taken from there question and answer list. 

Can I use this test to meet travel requirements for testing? No, this is for personal use only and doesn’t provide a documented test result that you can display when traveling. For a documented test result the BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test may be a better choice. Combined with the NAVICA App and with a negative result, you will have a digital result that may meet travel requirements. This test is offered by eMed, please visit www.emed.com for further information.

 

There are home test kits where you do the test when you want and the results are for personal use only.  I don't know what type of tests they are but I believe that they are NOT PCR or Antigen.

 

For travel you are usually required to have a PCR test (must be processed in a lab) or an antigen test. There are also antigen home test kits that including a supervised online testing session that can be used for travel. I don't know much about the Binex home test kits. But yes, if you are buying a home testing kit for travel it is important for it to be a "FDA approved", "Antigen", and "supervised" test. But you can get home test kits that are none of those and are not valid for travel. 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

The Binax "Self Test" is the test that you can buy at CVS/Walgreens and are just for your own peace of mind. 

 

The Binax "Home Test" is the one proctored by eMed that is acceptable for cruising. We ordered ours online this past weekend so that we will be prepared if they become scarce before our 9/19 cruise next month.

https://store.optum.com/shop/products/abbott-binaxNOW-COVID-19-ag-at-home-test-kit-2-pack/

[ledges1]

Would it make sense for the cruise ports/municipality to contract with a pharmacy to offer the rapid antigen test starting the day before embarkation at the port for those flying in or locals cruising. This would be a good perk for ports such as Mobile. Any thoughts?

[LHARTWICK]

2 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

As often as rules and protocols are changing, anyone's current experience is not likely to reflect the requirements that will be in place in November.  You're better off re-checking the requirements on Carnival's website closer to your cruise date.

Agreed.  Our next cruise is set for December.  Test appointments are hard to get where we live (surge state), and we've recently learned our insurance doesn't cover the rapid tests.  I'm not going to hit the panic button, unless I need to once the new protocols are announced if anything changes with those.  Already cancelled our 9/4 cruise strictly due to testing requirements.  This situation is SO FLUID....who knows what it will be like when CCL re-evaluates later this fall.  

[LHARTWICK]

2 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

The Binax "Self Test" is the test that you can buy at CVS/Walgreens and are just for your own peace of mind. 

 

The Binax "Home Test" is the one proctored by eMed that is acceptable for cruising. We ordered ours online this past weekend so that we will be prepared if they become scarce before our 9/19 cruise next month.

https://store.optum.com/shop/products/abbott-binaxNOW-COVID-19-ag-at-home-test-kit-2-pack/

Pardon my ignorance - do such tests have expiration dates?  Thank you for this information - VERY helpful!  👍

[TravelGirlinDallas]

2 minutes ago, LHARTWICK said:

Pardon my ignorance - do such tests have expiration dates?  Thank you for this information - VERY helpful!  👍

Yes, they do expire. I read somewhere on CC that tests being shipped currently expire in January. I am interested to see what the date will actually be on the ones we receive. 

[LHARTWICK]

4 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Yes, they do expire. I read somewhere on CC that tests being shipped currently expire in January. I am interested to see what the date will actually be on the ones we receive. 

Please keep us posted if you don't mind - thank you again!!