Will vaccine booster affect rapid antigen results?

[alex_drew]

I don't think anyone has asked this, but if so, I apologize for the duplicate question.  My husband is in his late 70's and should qualify to get the booster shot mid-late October (fingers crossed).  We plan to get our rapid antigen test (if it is still required) on October 26 prior to flying to FLL for our October 29 Equinox sailing.  Does anyone know if the booster vaccine will affect the reading of the rapid antigen test?  HAHA, I googled this but the information that I found was trying to reassure that if you get a positive result not to worry...  Thanks iin advance for any info you can provide.

 

Joanne

[canderson]

It's an antibody test that would change, but that's not an accepted test.  These shots do not (because they are not developed from the virus itself, unlike many traditional vaccines) leave the genetic traces that would be picked up by accepted tests.

[alex_drew]

Thank you!!!

[Jim_Iain]

A FAQ from CDC -----

 

Will getting a COVID-19 vaccine cause me to test positive for COVID-19 on a viral test?

 

 

No. None of the authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines cause you to test positive on viral tests, which are used to see if you have a current infection.

If your body develops an immune response to vaccination, which is the goal, you may test positive on some antibody tests. Antibody tests indicate you had a previous infection and that you may have some level of protection against the virus.

[canderson]

5 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

...

on viral tests, which are used to see if you have a current infection.

To be fair, that part isn't entirely true.  These tests are also capable of picking up a prior infection (nobody agrees on how long this can occur).  The approved tests can't distinguish between genetic material from live/dead virus.  Good marketing tool for Navage?😬

Edited August 29, 2021 by canderson

[Jim_Iain]

17 minutes ago, canderson said:

To be fair, that part isn't entirely true.  These tests are also capable of picking up a prior infection (nobody agrees on how long this can occur).  The approved tests can't distinguish between genetic material from live/dead virus.  Good marketing tool for Navage?😬

 

I'll let you fight that out with CDC.   I was simply posting what they have on their sight.   I don't portend to be an expert on tests and virus load.

[canderson]

It's something that can be of concern to anyone planning to cruise who has recently gotten over an infection, even a mild or asymptomatic one.  For once, the CDC advice might not be quite conservative enough!

 

I think the idea of being a bit more circumspect about sanitation and distancing for a couple of weeks before a cruise is probably pretty good advice.  Too darned easy to pick up a some delta, be completely done with it, and perhaps never know you even had it, but still test positive for a little while during the time it takes to dump the little dead buggers pretty completely. 

 

A couple of weeks should be long enough to expel the stuff to the point where it's almost sure to be at undetectable levels ... most of the time.  As I say, there doesn't yet seem to be a really definitive answer to the average time frame.  Don't know if that's due to lack of data or lack of interest in pursuing the results.

 

Meanwhile, I'm hoping they offer the booster shots to the otherwise healthy aged masses (like me) sometime before we sail.