Negative covid test certificate help

[candle18]

My teen is unvaccinated and we are going to Majorca. Do I have to take him to a test centre or can I buy an online covid travel test and upload it to get a certificate. Can’t find anywhere that says whether it has to be supervised?

Doesn't seem to specify that it needs to be supervised so I'd order a home one

Also interested to know what's allowed for this, a few people on a Facebook group are recommending simply test me so tempted to give that ago as first option

I know people that have used randox

I would use a test from someone like Randox or make an appointment at one of their test centres particularly if you are near one.

All passengers need to complete the Spanish Health Control form
www.spth.gob.es/

QURED do home tests supervised by a web appointment. You get a fairly instant certificate.,

You can do an unsupervised home LFT test, verified through an app. I know someone in the same situation who did this last week. They used the Randox test, which you can pick up same day for £11 from a Click and Collect location. covid.randox.com/pre-departure/

Note the Spanish health form is confusing. In this situation you don't upload the certificate, even though it has a QR code on it. The upload is just for vaccination certificates IF you meet the Spanish criteria for fully vaccinated, ie 2 vax, last one within 270 days, or 2 plus a booster.
If you don't meet the criteria then you select that you don't have an EU DCC (digital Covid certificate), even though your LFT certificate may say something like EU DCC! Then you will need to bring the test certificate with you.

Incorrect. Only unvaccinated passengers over the age of 12 need to complete the form. The rules changed months ago.

Not quite - seems that they require anyone over age 12 who is not "fully vaccinated" to complete the form, and they define "fully vaccinated" as 2nd vax within last 270 days, OR 2nd vax plus booster. See UK government advice on Spain entry requirements

Oh I do apologise for the misunderstanding then, as I too only count <270 days or booster as fully vaccinated. I also live somewhere with this rule so I had just assumed most people defined it like that now.

@AttilaTheMeerkat is the health form still required? For some reason I thought it wasn't...

I didn’t think the LFT give much time to find out if you could fly as they have to be done closer to flight time than PCR. We’re in similar situation and think we’ll have to cough up for more pricey but quicker PCR ones. It’s an awful waiting game getting ready for a holiday but not knowing if we can actually go.

Health form is required unless you qualify as "fully vaccinated" by the EU definition, which has time limits while the UK's does not. Also not required if under age 12.

Source : UK government advice as I linked above, plus Spanish health control form advice

I've had to look into this carefully as it affects me. I've had both doses of the primary vaccination course, have had Covid both before and after vaccination, and had a recovery certificate. Have not had a booster yet - I'm not anti, it's a timing issue partly.

Would it be worth buying some of the cheaper home tests, doing one or a few before you LFT just for reassurance your negative

Pros and cons both ways. PCR stays positive way after you're infectious, 14-17 days on average but far longer for some. LFT will only be positive if you have a recent infection, usually in the last week. Sometimes you'll get a positive a day earlier via PCR before it shows up on LFT, but then you stay positive for so much longer on PCR. The upshot of this is - you have approx double the chance of getting a positive via PCR than via LFT, and these will usually be positives from an old infection.

Also the PCR has to be sent off for processing, so you're worrying if it'll be done in time, but LFT is instant.
You can do PCR in the 72 hours prior to departure, whereas LFT has to be done within 24 hours. But as @glitterbranapple says,often people do a few "dry run" LFTs beforehand to get more notice if you're likely to be positive

"Unvaccinated" and "Not fully vaccinated according to EU definition" make quite a bit of difference in terms of risk, and also in terms of travel regulations in many countries outside the EU. Even more stuff to get our heads around!! In the past year I've travelled to 5 different countries and no two had the same Covid entry requirements!!

If you read the link children age 12-17 are counted as fully vaccinated without a booster and only over 18s need a booster if it's been more than 270 days since the 2nd dose.

And you don't need to fill in the Spanish info form unless you are partially vaccinated or not counted as fully vaccinated

Is it possible to pass a PCR test if you recovered from Covid, say, a fortnight ago?

PCR can pick up traces of the old infection so you can test positive even when no longer contagious. That's why you were always told not to test again within 90 days of a postive test (unless you got symptoms again)

Yes. On average, people test negative by PCR at 14-17 days from first symptoms. However, for a minority of people, the body can clear out viral RNA debris over a longer period, hence the advice that @dementedpixie explained above.

A positive result depends on the sensitivity of the test used, too, and this can vary between laboratories. If you've had a confirmed positive Covid test recently then you can get a Certificate of Recovery and this will explain why you might have "false" positive PCR results & allow you to count as fully vaccinated under the EU scheme if I remember correctly, as long as you had the primary course beforehand. The NHS app used to generate a recovery certificate automatically, 10 days after a positive PCR I think. However this doesn't happen any more - think you have to get them privately if you require one.

So how do people get a "certificate of recovery" for an infection they had, say, a month ago? Asking for a friend.

I don't think you can at this stage. I was considering it myself as I probably had Covid yet again a couple of weeks ago. I have had it confirmed twice before, once before any vaccinations and once after two. But it looked like I'd need to have a positive test done eg under video supervision by a clinic, then get a recovery certificate. I decided not to bother & just do a LFT to travel once recovered, knowing that I'd certainly be clear on that.
In your friend's situation I'd just do the LFT ; why complicate things if you don't need to do a PCR test?

We did the form and rapid antigen test for DS who turned 12 last month (so wasn't fully vaccinated). Test was bought online for about £15, the certificate came through about 30 mins after showing proof of a negative test.

However, we weren't asked for proof of either upon entering. This was also for Spain.

Actually this clinic appears to be offering recovery certificates if you've had a positive result up to 6 months ago . It's not clear to me whether you'd need to have kept a positive LFT. But worth contacting them to ask maybe?