BinaxNow Covid-19 Ag test card review and info

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/10/2021 at 3:56 PM, floridatravelersforlife said:

Is it safer to have two tests for each person in the event the first one is positive?  One test per individual seems risky in the event it is ruined or turns positive and one has one day left before the trip.

We bought the unmonitored ones and pre-tested on the ship a day before our official one on the ship for a B2B.  Both  were negative. 

 

I think the Abbott test is pretty accurate but of course you could always get a false positive.  My daughter was feeling terrible after being exposed and I had her get a home test.   She did and tested positive.   She then went to the County to have the NAAT test  and it also showed positive. 

 

She works as a radiation therapist and had been double vaxed.   

[Ipeeinthepools]

I did get a tracking number from Fed Ex.  The test kits are currently in Oakland, CA and they are supposed to be in Detroit in less than 15 hours.  We'll see if they get here.

[durangokid]

15 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I ordered a couple 3-pack tests this morning and I hope the testing goes better than the order process so far.  I think the tests got shipped but my Visa card company identified the Optum website possible fraudulent activity and locked my card.  I received the note that says the tests have shipped but I can't access the package tracking because my computer network says the Optum network isn't secure.

 

This was supposed to be easy.

Odd as use OptumRx for our mail order prescriptions and have never had an issue with it being a secure site.  Hope things go better from here on out for you. 

 

[durangokid]

15 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I ordered a couple 3-pack tests this morning and I hope the testing goes better than the order process so far.  I think the tests got shipped but my Visa card company identified the Optum website possible fraudulent activity and locked my card.  I received the note that says the tests have shipped but I can't access the package tracking because my computer network says the Optum network isn't secure.

 

This was supposed to be easy.

Odd as use OptumRx for our mail order prescriptions and have never had an issue with it being a secure site.  Hope things go better from here on out for you. 

 

[basenji56]

This was in the New York Times newsletter this morning about the difference between antigen tests and PCR tests:

 

"

In the case of rapid tests, the F.D.A. has loosened its rules somewhat over the past year, allowing the sale of some antigen tests (which often cost about $12 each). But drugstores, Amazon and other sellers have now largely run out of them. I tried to buy rapid tests this weekend and couldn’t find any.

The F.D.A.’s process for approving rapid tests is “onerous” and “inappropriate,” Daniel Oran and Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Research wrote in Stat News.

For the most part, the F.D.A. still uses the same cumbersome process for approving Covid tests that it uses for high-tech medical devices. To survive that process, the rapid tests must demonstrate that they are nearly as sensitive as P.C.R. tests, which they are not.

But rapid tests do not need to be so sensitive to be effective, experts point out. P.C.R. tests often identify small amounts of the Covid virus in people who had been infected weeks earlier and are no longer contagious. Rapid tests can miss these cases while still identifying about 98 percent of cases in which a person is infectious, according to Dr. Michael Mina, a Harvard epidemiologist who has been advocating for more testing.

Identifying anywhere close to 98 percent of infectious cases would sharply curb Covid’s spread. An analysis in the journal Science Advances found that test frequency matters more for reducing Covid cases than test sensitivity."

Edited September 21, 2021 by basenji56

[dazey]

We leave on a Thursday(flight at 6 AM) to sail on a Saturday on Apex which I believe leaves late that day.  Would we be able to do the Optum test we are ordering through Celebrity early AM on Thursday before our flight or will we have to wait until we get to Fort Lauderdale? Not sure if they have certain hours of operation.

 

Any chance of this requirement being changed as of October 1? 

 

I may try to schedule the test at a Walgreens in FLL also just in case I cannot get this done using the Optum test. 

[joetop2467]

We are so lucky here in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati area.  There is a free test site open every day from 6 am to 1 pm. Results by midnight (PCR test).  Another is location is opening today M-F 5-8 pm.  Cincinnati Public Library gave away free Binex tests a week or so ago which I was able to get.  It’s great to get tested and get results so quickly.  

[publicpersona]

1 hour ago, dazey said:

Would we be able to do the Optum test we are ordering through Celebrity early AM on Thursday before our flight or will we have to wait until we get to Fort Lauderdale? Not sure if they have certain hours of operation.

 

First of all, a technicality .. you ordered from Optum using a link provided by Celebrity. The cruise line otherwise has nothing to do with it.

 

My understanding from other threads is that the test monitoring is available 24x7. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

2 hours ago, durangokid said:

Odd as use OptumRx for our mail order prescriptions and have never had an issue with it being a secure site.  Hope things go better from here on out for you. 

 

 

Seems to be working out.  Fed Ex has the package out for delivery, less than 24 hours after I ordered the tests.  Not sure why I can't access their site.  Maybe I should register next time instead of ordering as a guest.

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, dazey said:

We leave on a Thursday(flight at 6 AM) to sail on a Saturday on Apex which I believe leaves late that day.  Would we be able to do the Optum test we are ordering through Celebrity early AM on Thursday before our flight or will we have to wait until we get to Fort Lauderdale? Not sure if they have certain hours of operation.

 

14 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

First of all, a technicality .. you ordered from Optum using a link provided by Celebrity. The cruise line otherwise has nothing to do with it.

 

My understanding from other threads is that the test monitoring is available 24x7. 

It is also my understanding from reading other threads that the monitoring is available 24/7.  @dazey the tests are monitored by eMed. If you want to confirm the 24/7, there’s a customer service number on their website you can call. (eMed.com)

[Ipeeinthepools]

FWIW I received the tests today the expiration date is tomorrow but the expiration date has been extended 3 months.

[rclibertygirl5]

Ordered a 6 pack of tests directly from eMed on Wednesday morning and received them Thursday evening.

[jelayne]

6 minutes ago, rclibertygirl5 said:

Ordered a 6 pack of tests directly from eMed on Wednesday morning and received them Thursday evening.

We ordered from EMed at 4pm yesterday and our kits are “out for delivery”.now. 

[silkismom]

Is the expiration date getting farther out? We have (hopefully) cruises in Nov & then in Mar.

[MartinsCruise]

On 9/19/2021 at 1:35 PM, jhagen said:

Thanks a bunch for your information on how to use the laptop to get tested. Will do that for our November cruise.

 

As regards to your husband using a incognito window to log in - Did he use your login or did he have to have his own account on Navica?

 

Also how did you obtain the tests? Celebrity? or ?

Thanks in advance.

Sorry to take so long with my response.  We're onboard now and I'm just catching up with my emails.  He did need his own account because my account is tied to my name so it wouldn't allow him to do the test unless he signed in using his own account.  

 

We purchased our tests from emed before Celebrity made them available but they should all work the same.

[jhagen]

17 hours ago, MartinsCruise said:

Sorry to take so long with my response.  We're onboard now and I'm just catching up with my emails.  He did need his own account because my account is tied to my name so it wouldn't allow him to do the test unless he signed in using his own account.  

 

We purchased our tests from emed before Celebrity made them available but they should all work the same.

Thanks for response, figured you were on the ship. We cruise in November so getting all our ducks lined upl

[LisaDee]

We ordered the 6-pack from emed late in the evening of 9/22, they arrived 9/24.  The printed expiration date is 9/18/21 so they’re only good through 12/18/21.  We will use 2 for our October Caribbean cruise but I had hoped to use the rest in early Jan when we return to the US after a Mediterranean cruise and post-cruise stay of several days. I guess I’ll use them instead to self-test before flying to Greece although it’s not currently required.  At least it will help prevent a surprise denial of boarding when the cruise line (Viking) tests us upon embarkation.

[jelayne]

We got our kits yesterday but nowhere on the box do I see a expiration date.  Where is the date?

[LisaDee]

7 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We got our kits yesterday but nowhere on the box do I see a expiration date.  Where is the date?

On the white sticker, next to the hourglass image.  You might have to slide the white “Do Not Open” sleeve over to see the sticker.

 

 

[Turtles06]

18 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We got our kits yesterday but nowhere on the box do I see a expiration date.  Where is the date?

 

9 minutes ago, LisaDee said:

On the white sticker, next to the hourglass image.  You might have to slide the white “Do Not Open” sleeve over to see the sticker.

 

 

Just to add to the above information, the expiration date on the label is the original expiration date.  In order to find the extended expiration date, you need to look at the various Abbott letters that can be found on line; the letters have lists of Lot numbers with the original and extended expiration dates.

 

So, for example, for Lot 139380 (the Lot number of the test kit pictured in comment 269 above), the extended expiration date (of Dec. 18, 2021) can be found on page 4 of this Abbott letter:

 

https://www.emed.com/hubfs/Case 01269955-COL-03030 BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Home Test Product Expiry Update - Customer Letter EN - US.pdf?hsLang=en

[qoap24]

On 9/14/2021 at 7:47 AM, turquoisewater said:

I hope somebody answers your question as I am wondering the same thing about how the camera gets turned on when you use a laptop.  I am also wondering how you can scan the QR code or if that isn't necessary.  Please help any of you who understand this process.

Not sure if your question was answered. I think using a cell phone will be better than a laptop. I used my laptop and I had to move it around for them to see the test kit and it was a PITA. My situation was such a nightmare and a blur that I am trying to remember how it worked. If my memory is correct, once you answer the pre-questions on the site your camera will come on and you will wait for the next person to become available. 

 

*************PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!!! Have a back up plan! ********My flight to Seattle was at 7:20 am. I woke up at 4am and I immediately got on to do my test as I did not want to board a plane if my test came back positive. Once it was time for me to drop the solution onto the test kit, the solution started to foam and that was the end of my test. I could not use it because it was determined to be defective. I was asked if I had a spare test. UH NO!  

 

Thank goodness I am an over planner and I had a back up plan, but just meant my leisure morning of going to the airport turned into rushing and getting to my back up plan test spot by 5:30 and to the airport by 6 am. We managed to get there in time, but it was a very stressful morning. I know that not everyone will have the experience I did, my daughter's test kit worked just fine, but I suggest having some type of back up plan just in case. 

[jelayne]

Thanks @LisaDee and @Turtle06 I found the date and extended date.  

[defiant]

OMG OMG, we got two test kits a week before we were going to cruise. My brothers test went without a hitch.

I went to do mine. Tried to put the 6 drops into the upper window and found the bottle was completely dry. Telehealth person saw my panicking and then caught on that I tried to switch to my brothers bottle and invalidated the test.

Then spent hours on hold with R/C and kit maker and pretty much told I am SOL.

Then the mass panic trying to find a place last evening how was willing to do a quick test and was turned away at each location.

I got an appointment today a a walk-in medi center were you pay 150 bucks for a quick PCR test and I am good to go.

 

I would highly recommend anyone who order these test to get at least 2 backup one. Sure your will wasting money but if you went through what I did after last night and the past 19 months it will be well worth it.

[Ipeeinthepools]

Who actually reads and interprets the results on these proctored self-tests?  I've watched a couple of YouTube videos and I did a test this morning and it really seemed to me that the card was actually being read by the person taking the test and not the person proctoring the tests.  The proctor looks at the card after the test and only seems to be interested in reading the QR code on the card.  The proctor always seems to ask the person or me what they see.  It just seems odd to me that the proctor doesn't tell you what the result is.  

[canderson]

5 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

The proctor always seems to ask the person or me what they see.  It just seems odd to me that the proctor doesn't tell you what the result is.  

They may be asking the test taker to 'fess up to anything visible in the positive position that might not show up well in the video.  Even the faintest of lines is counted as a positive test.