Travel to the US with COVID Recovery Certificate

[4COR]

We are shortly due (mid April '22) to travel to the US as a family - under the current rules, those who have had COVID in the preceding 90 days may travel with a "COVID Recovery Certificate" (signed by a healthcare professional), in lieu of the negative test prior to travel.

Does anyone have any experience of what is required exactly in terms of proof of positive test (all we have are NHS registered Lateral Flow IDs for the tests), and in terms of the letter/cert that is needed?

Thanks

 

[P Binnersley]

The US requirements are documented on the CDC website.

What if I have recently recovered from COVID
People who have recovered from COVID-19 can continue to test positive for up to 3 months after their infection. CDC does not recommend retesting within 3 months after a person with COVID-19 first developed symptoms of COVID-19 (or the date their sample was taken for their first positive viral diagnostic test if their infection was asymptomatic).

If you have had a positive viral test on a sample taken during the past 90 days, and you have met the criteria to travel, you may travel instead with your positive viral test results and a signed letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official that states you have been cleared for travel according to CDC’s travel guidance. The positive test result and letter together are referred to as “documentation of recovery.”

A letter from your healthcare provider or a public health official that clears you to travel, must have information that identifies you personally (e.g., name and date of birth) that matches the personal identifiers on your passport or other travel documents. The letter must be signed and dated on official letterhead that contains the name, address, and phone number of the healthcare provider or public health official who signed the letter.

If you have recovered from COVID-19 but are not able to obtain documentation of recovery that fulfills the requirements, you will need to show a negative COVID-19 viral test result from a sample taken no more than 1 day before your flight to the US departs.

Even if you have recovered from COVID-19, if you develop symptoms of COVID-19 you should isolate, not travel, and consult with a healthcare provider for testing recommendations.

Can I get a rapid test
Rapid tests are acceptable if they are a viral test that meet the requirements under the Order.

Does a Self Test meet the conditions of the order

You can use a self-test (sometimes referred to as home test) that meets the following criteria:

• The test must be a SARS-CoV-2 viral test (nucleic acid amplification test [NAAT] or antigen test) with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) OR the relevant national authority where the test is administered.
• The testing procedure must include a telehealth service affiliated with the manufacturer of the test that provides real-time supervision remotely through an audio and video connection. Some FDA-authorized self-tests that include a telehealth service may require a prescription.
• The telehealth provider must confirm your identity, observe the sample collection and testing procedures, confirm the test result, and issue a report that meets the requirements of CDC’s Order (see “What information must be included in the test result?” below).
• Airlines and other aircraft operators must be able to review and confirm your identity and the test result details. You must also be able to present the documentation of test results to U.S. officials at the port of entry and local/state health departments, if requested.

Some countries may restrict importation of tests that are not authorized or registered there. If you are considering bringing a U.S.-authorized test with you for use outside of the United States, contact authorities at your destination for information before you travel.

 

[4COR]

Yes - I've seen that - but the definition around the test required appears to be applying to a pre flight test, rather than the test that showed positive up to 90 days prior. Does the positive test also need to have been a supervised test?

 

[nw1]

We are shortly due (mid April '22) to travel to the US as a family - under the current rules, those who have had COVID in the preceding 90 days may travel with a "COVID Recovery Certificate" (signed by a healthcare professional), in lieu of the negative test prior to travel.

Does anyone have any experience of what is required exactly in terms of proof of positive test (all we have are NHS registered Lateral Flow IDs for the tests), and in terms of the letter/cert that is needed?

Thanks

I'm not sure what the US needs, and I realise it's not answering the question: but I took 5 LFTs for various reasons in the three months after getting Covid (the earliest of which was about 40 days after, needed for travel), and all came back negative. So, as an alternative to recovery, if they accept an LFT as their test, you will "probably" (no guarantees!) be OK.

From what I gather, and others have said this, it's the PCR that's more likely to come back with false positives.

 

[ainsworth74]

Yes - I've seen that - but the definition around the test required appears to be applying to a pre flight test, rather than the test that showed positive up to 90 days prior. Does the positive test also need to have been a supervised test?

Is this not the answer from @P Binnersley's post:

If you have had a positive viral test on a sample taken during the past 90 days, and you have met the criteria to travel, you may travel instead with your positive viral test results and a signed letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official that states you have been cleared for travel according to CDC’s travel guidance. The positive test result and letter together are referred to as “documentation of recovery.”

A letter from your healthcare provider or a public health official that clears you to travel, must have information that identifies you personally (e.g., name and date of birth) that matches the personal identifiers on your passport or other travel documents. The letter must be signed and dated on official letterhead that contains the name, address, and phone number of the healthcare provider or public health official who signed the letter.

That sounds like to me you'll need to get your GP to write a letter on the surgery letterhead confirming that @4COR of x address born on y date has had Covid-19 within the last 90 days as per their test with ID z and is clear to travel in line with the guidance on the CDC website.

There will no doubt be a charge for this service from your GP but from reading the link that sounds like what will be required. It does also sound to me as if the test will need to have been a supervised test but wouldn't swear to it.

 

[AlterEgo]

I would not want to rely on something unusual like proof of recovery. I’d still test.

The customs and border protection officers in the USA will not check it. A check in agent of very variable quality will do that. I would not like to turn up with a letter on headed paper in lieu of a very easily recognisable and cheap antigen test. Bring both the test result and the proof of recovery letter. Belt and braces!

 

[island]

Antigen tests will be negative once you are no longer infectious.

 

[P Binnersley]

According to the CDC you need to present the

“documentation of recovery” which consists of
Positive viral test results
and
A signed letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official that states you have been cleared for travel

As far as I can see the positive test has to meet the same requirements as the negative test. Lateral flow tests are OK, but have to have been supervised; so self tests will probably not be accepted.

A quick web search shows several UK companies that will issue the "cleared for travel" certificate for c£65.
One of them states:

Can I use my at-home test (such as a rapid antigen tests) as evidence/proof of my infection?
No, we will need to see evidence of a test result from a laboratory. We cannot accept photos of test kits or test cassettes.

 

[island]

It's cheaper to just get an antigen test, though some may of course prefer to pay for the convenience.

 

[duncanp]

I am due to travel to the US on April 23rd, and I have recently recovered from COVID, having tested positive in early February.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) are very precise in their requirements for proof of recovery from COVID, and the NHS COVID recovery certificate on its own is not sufficient.

NHS GPs do not provide the required letter as a matter of routine, and you would have to get the required letter from a private GP.

Your documentation would be checked by the airline on check in, and I wouldn't want to risk being denied boarding due to incorrect documentation.

It is much easier to get a lateral flow test, which is what I am going to do.

 

[4COR]

As far as I can see the positive test has to meet the same requirements as the negative test. Lateral flow tests are OK, but have to have been supervised; so self tests will probably not be accepted.

Thanks - that was the information I couldn't see on the CDC website, but I assumed it would be the same requirements on top of the letter from GP (I probably could get it myself, given time as I've been on a vaccine trial so there are PCR tests in existence for me, but no point risking not getting it). We're booked up for video supervised lateral flows, so let's hope they all come back OK...!

 

[baz962]

I went in November. I went to a clinic and had a test to get the certificate. You only need the lateral flow and not the PCR. From memory I paid around £25

 

[4COR]

I went in November. I went to a clinic and had a test to get the certificate. You only need the lateral flow and not the PCR. From memory I paid around £25

Yes - this is what we are doing (the video lateral flow). It appears more complicated if you are going down the "had covid and recovered" route, but you are then not required to take (and potentially fail) a lateral flow the day before travelling...

 

[nlogax]

Going to be going down the LFT route for a short spell on the west coast next month. Currently I have what has rapidly become asymptomatic Covid after a mere two days of coughing and minor cold symptoms and four days of positive tests. I feel like an absolute fraud in that respect..there's bugger all to recover from.

Rumours are abound that the US will drop entry testing in coming weeks. Let's hope that happens.

 

[4COR]

Going to be going down the LFT route for a short spell on the west coast next month. Currently I have what has rapidly become asymptomatic Covid after a mere two days of coughing and minor cold symptoms and four days of positive tests. I feel like an absolute fraud in that respect..there's bugger all to recover from.

Rumours are abound that the US will drop entry testing in coming weeks. Let's hope that happens.

Yes - so I understand as well re: entry requirements - I had heard talk it might be this coming week, but poss pushed back.

And your symptoms and experience are much like my own with COVID - though I didn't even have the cough - just a runny nose for 2 days!

As it is, we got here OK in the end - my cert didn't come through from the online test people (but the 3 others did...) and I landed up on a mad rush into Oxford to have an in-person test (at £50 a pop...) to make sure I had a fit to fly cert. Grrr!!

 

[Yew]

Going to be going down the LFT route for a short spell on the west coast next month.

For a moment I was wondering if that was a branch line on the GWML - Lynmouth, Falmouth and Truro Branch

 

[nlogax]

In related news the Mask Mandate for travel has just been struck down by a federal judge, meaning many US carriers will no longer enforce masks on flights. Obviously your specific experience will depend on what airline you use and what side of bed the crew emerge from on any given day.

For a moment I was wondering if that was a branch line on the GWML - Lynmouth, Falmouth and Truro Branch