Positive PCR tests for travel despite having no symptoms?

[Drivingslowtosavefuel]

I may have to get a PCR test for travel this weekend despite being double jabbed because an error on my NHS app shows only one of the two vaccines I have had (albeit vaccine 2 of 2, which is obviously better than it saying 1 of 2) and my useless GP has still not updated my record after numerous urgent phone calls and emails about it all week

Am paranoid that my test will be positive which will prevent the whole family from travelling, even though I have no symptoms. I have a DC in nursery and have been going about my usual business these last few weeks, and am pregnant so more susceptible to viruses.

Have others felt fine, gone to have a private PCR for travel and then found that they have tested positive? I am just a nervous wreck now and can’t sleep

Sorry you are in this situation, when clearly you shouldn’t be. You could do LFT before you go for PCR test, that may help your anxiety/worrying until you get results. Good luck.

Airports only ask to see the 2/2 code.

Your 'useless GP' isn't a travel agent, they are likely helping be people who are genuinely unwell!

does being pregnant make you more susceptible? i dont think so

why would you go about your business as usual? you need a negative test, why havent you been considering this?

I'm sure loads of people have, just as loads of people have had positive tests after contact with no symptoms.

Vaccines or not, at least you wouldn't be going away whilst asymptomatic which could potentially turn symptomatic whilst you're away.

PCR tests are pretty accurate; much more so than LFT, Antigen, etc. It's unlikely you'll get a false positive, so if you do get a positive you of course shouldn't travel. Lots of countries are requiring that foreign arrivals (and locals in certain jobs) be tested even if they are fully vaccinated.

That said, I have sympathy for you being nervous about the test. From what you've said though, it's very unlikely that you have COVID, and if you do isn't it better to know?

@hashbrownsandwich

Your 'useless GP' isn't a travel agent, they are likely helping be people who are genuinely unwell!

This.

lft testing are now considered to be much better in accuracy

If you test positive then you test positive. It's annoying for you but best for everyone else if it's gets caught.

Why are you so sure it'll be positive?

Your GP is legally obliged to hold accurate and upto date records on you. They have been instructions to correct inaccurate data. I would not stand for this. This is their job to do under GDPR if nothing else as one of the rules is that your information is accurate and up to date. If your vaccine wasn't with GP then its the sites job to sort it - GP can do it but its more difficult. Its very easy for the distributing site to correct as i had this with dh but you have to complain a lot.

digital.nhs.uk/services/nhs-app/nhs-app-guidance-for-gp-practices/nhs-covid-pass#how-to-amend-errors

Thank you @Mindymomo and @Dutchesss

@hashbrownsandwich and @Lucythewonderdog I am very aware that a GP is not a travel agent, thank you - but they are genuinely the only ones who are able to update the NHS app with the correct vaccine information. I don't think it's asking too much for a Practice Manager to do their job, particularly when you have a conversation with them.....3 days in a row.....and they say they will do it. I don't treat the people I work with with such disdain. What is this country coming to if we have such low expectations of people to actually do what they said they will do, which is PART OF THEIR JOB?! And for the record, my GP is useless on many fronts, not just this one - easily the worst of the 5 GP practices I have ever used.

@MrsLargeEmbodied well you have a supressed immune system when you are pregnant, otherwise your body would reject the growing foetus, which makes you more likely to catch EVERYTHING, including coughs, colds, flu (hence why they offer a free flu jab to pregnant women), covid etc. I have certainly caught endless coughs and colds during both of my pregnancies, while my male non-pregnant partner remains well.

The reason I have been going about my business in recent weeks is because I am double vaccinated - and didn't realise that there was an error on the NHS app showing only 1 vaccine - so I was not expecting to have to take a PCR test as an alternative to just showing my double vaccination status, as per the latest rules for travel.

And even if I was expecting to take a test before travel, are there many people who have the luxury of isolating their entire family, not working or using childcare for 10 days before a 2 week holiday, just in case?! Not me sadly!

@girlmom21 I'm pleased to report that my LFT and PCR tests both came out negative. But I've never had covid to my knowledge, but given it's prevalence and how long it's been going on, and how rates are on the rise again where I live, I find it quite likely that:
a) I must have had covid at some point - but been asymptomatic
b) I might have it now given that so many have had / have it

I very much imagine that half of the plane will be double vaccinated, won't have taken a test as they don't need to, will have covid asymptomatically, and the rest of us will catch it! So I was just nervous that I might take the test and be positive and have to cancel the trip for the whole family - but thankfully that's not the case.

If you have covid surely it's better that you know rather than going on holiday and possibly infecting people

I agree that it's annoying that it hasn't been sorted out but that has got nothing to do with whether you have covid. If you don't no harm done, if you do thank goodness you found out.

[quote Drivingslowtosavefuel]@girlmom21 I'm pleased to report that my LFT and PCR tests both came out negative. But I've never had covid to my knowledge, but given it's prevalence and how long it's been going on, and how rates are on the rise again where I live, I find it quite likely that:
a) I must have had covid at some point - but been asymptomatic
b) I might have it now given that so many have had / have it

I very much imagine that half of the plane will be double vaccinated, won't have taken a test as they don't need to, will have covid asymptomatically, and the rest of us will catch it! So I was just nervous that I might take the test and be positive and have to cancel the trip for the whole family - but thankfully that's not the case.[/quote]
Did you literally get your result in the couple of minutes between your posts? I'm a little confused.

I couldn't agree more, @Watapalava - thank you for being the voice of reason! It's really not asking much to have my health records accurately recorded on the system, and for errors to be correctly swiftly when I highlighted them.

I'm now £128 + petrol money lighter, and lost half a day's work when I should have been working on last minute deadlines before my holiday - thanks to a small handful of people not paying adequate attention to their jobs. But thankfully I still get to go on holiday, which is the most important thing.

@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair I am just coming online after a stressful day of driving and testing and dropping and collecting DD from nursery and urgent work deadlines to update everyone.

I took the test at 10.45 this morning, got the results into my Junk mail at 12.25 and retrieved the results from my Junk Mail around 3pm between meetings - so am just now responding to all messages, and updating that all's well that ends well as I don't like to leave a thread unfinished!

Thanks to everyone who was helpful and sympathetic on this thread at a tiring and stressful time. I am sure we can all do without extra stress just before a holiday, especially one which is so long awaited and saved for, so thank you to those who understood how I was feeling!

Wishing you all smooth travels if and when you decide to fly - and do check your NHS covid app well in advance to make sure both your jabs are there to avoid the week before your holiday being overshadowed by chasing the GP instead of packing and finishing work!

I certainly won't be attempting any more international travel for a while after all this palaver!

@Drivingslowtosavefuel

Thank you *@Mindymomo and @Dutchesss*

@hashbrownsandwich and @Lucythewonderdog I am very aware that a GP is not a travel agent, thank you - but they are genuinely the only ones who are able to update the NHS app with the correct vaccine information. I don't think it's asking too much for a Practice Manager to do their job, particularly when you have a conversation with them.....3 days in a row.....and they say they will do it. I don't treat the people I work with with such disdain. What is this country coming to if we have such low expectations of people to actually do what they said they will do, which is PART OF THEIR JOB?! And for the record, my GP is useless on many fronts, not just this one - easily the worst of the 5 GP practices I have ever used.

And I'm sure the Practice Manager will get around to do it. This task will be in a pile of other tasks. You can't just expect to get some thing done within a day or 2 of wanting it done - the nhs doesn't work like that.

Does not mean they are not paying adequate attention to their job. It means they're busy and had stuff in their to do pile which has been there longer. You know like processing referrals, etc for sick people.

I don't work in the nhs but in my company we have a 5 working day email policy so a lot of the time I won't even answer an email for a few days.

I wondered about this.....A PCR can show positive for around THREE MONTHS after infection, for some people. So if you [anyone] aren't testing regularly/have no reason to do a test/didn't realise you've had covid previously as asymptomatic...then potentially, you could book a holiday and then not be able to go, even though your postive is 2-3 months old and you havent been contagious for weeks or months.

Utter madness and IMO a good reason to stop all this stupid bloody testing!!

So many people are probably testing positive from a previous infection, not contagious, and then treated like they have the lurgy for no reason. Craziness!

Try the website rather than the App
We had this st the airport with DS.

@CovidCorvid and @Me33 Knowing that emails can get lost I did ring every day to speak to the surgery and was told it would be done on day 1, then told on day that it really really would be done this time on day 2, and finally on day 3 the person did it right there and then while I was on the phone in 2 mins (it really wasn’t that difficult!) but too little too late for me. The NHS didn’t used to be like this - I used to work for them myself!

If they had been straight with me from the beginning and not kept telling me they were going to do it immediately and then breaking their promise I could have got a much less expensive PCR test earlier in the week and avoided a lot of last minute stress.

We are all busy with overflowing inboxes - but i am straight with people about whether I can do something or not and in what timescale - and then I stick to my word - or if something changes beyond my control I communicate to update them or delegate it to someone else reliable to do in my behalf.

@HumourReplacementTherapy it’s the same problem whether it’s the app, website or paper copy unfortunately. 119 also confirmed there is only 1 vaccine recorded on my record.
So in addition to the flying out palaver I have more complex and expensive testing regime to look forward to on my return too, if my record still isn’t updated by then (it updates overnight so tomorrow will tell)