If you’re planning to visit Hawaii soon, especially over any of the upcoming holidays, this news is critical. CVS which is Hawaii’s longest touted testing partner has an update and it simply is not good at all. Beyond that, the most highly rated testing for Hawaii travel from Vault Health is about to encounter some critical limitations. So read on for details and what happened to CVS.
As of today, the State of Hawaii requires that you have your COVID test negative results in hand and uploaded to the Safe Travels website before arrival in Hawaii. Otherwise, you cannot avoid a 14-day quarantine, even if test results are pending you later obtain negative results! See Important Changes to Hawaii Quarantine Rules.
That latest decision from the governor last week appears to have been made unilaterally, without consulting with the other Hawaii travel stakeholders. So it is not a surprise that it has not been met with widescale approval. As a commentor, David K. said, “The HI government is still unpredictable and inconsistent in their actions. As long as the target keeps moving, visitors can’t effectively plan a vacation to HI.”
Also see: Breaking: Kauai Proposes Complete Travel Shutdown.
Outcry Over The New Policy.
Governor Ige is being widely criticized for how these most recent changes to Hawaii’s pre-travel testing program came down. The House Speaker said it was an “Abrupt decision (that) doesn’t serve the public well.” Others including Hawaiian Airlines, the Hawaii Lodging Assn, and Bank of Hawaii all took issue with the impact this unexpected change will have on our barely breathing travel economy.
Mufi Hannemann (twice Mayor of Honolulu) said, “We really believe that if we don’t tweak in some form or fashion what is now going to be the norm to travel to Hawaii will not result in some reduction, it will result in a great reduction.”
Hawaii’s major hospital/medical provider Hawaii Pacific Health’s CEO said that the 44 travelers who subsequently tested positively should not change the current policy. He said it was “A very, very, very small percentage.” Peter Ingram of Hawaiian Air spoke about the “Narrow window” that already existed even before this change, for testing within 72 hours of departure.
CVS Says Their Testing is NOT For Hawaii Travel!
Let’s hear it from the horse’s mouth. CVS updated its COVID testing website as follows:
“NOTE: We cannot guarantee a specific turnaround time on the lab tests accepted by Hawaii – travelers to Hawaii should make other testing plans.”
Going back as far as early as last spring, Lt. Governor Green was talking up their trusted testing partner CVS Health. To be honest, we were concerned from the beginning about whether that relationship would work, as we questioned CVS’ commitment to Hawaii travel, especially in light of other priorities.
The State of Hawaii COVID-19 website still shows CVS as a partner. That, even though CVS says it is not able to met the testing requirements for Hawaii travel.
Vault is Overwhelmed.
Laura (and dozens or more others have made similar comments): “I had tried to reach out to Vault through voicemails and emails and no one contacted me.” In addition, we are getting reports of Vaut tests getting lost in UPS transit, and as we approach the holidays when UPS will be busy to-the-max, we can only see that getting worse. Much worse in fact, as both UPS and FedEx warned today about possible shipping delays ahead.
Lala warns: “If use Vault, make sure you write ‘stat Hawaii’ on the inside box AND the shipping bag. Everyone in our party but 1 did that and all tests but that 1 came back in 24 hours. The final test came back 80 hours later (Monday morning) which made it invalid and led to lots of changed flight and last minute tests booked and was super stressful. Be careful!”
Will Hawaiian Airlines’ 36 Hour Testing Work?
The verdict is out but it looks promising. Even though there have been delays in the past. We remain hopeful.
Is an expensive but reliable test cheaper than the cost of last-minute cancellation of a Hawaii vacation?
If you are traveling to Hawaii and don’t want to get stuck with the go-straight-to-jail quarantine card, here’s what we can suggest based in part on your wise suggestions.
- Be sure that you can obtain an appointment for testing when you need it. Many of you have reported being unable to do so. That is even more critical when traveling over the upcoming holidays.
- Consider tests that provide nearly immediate to 48-hour results to not get caught in limbo at the last minute.
Update on Hawaii trusted testing partners’ timeframes.
1. Vault may have issues over the holidays due to potential shipping delays. Not recommended at this time.
2. Costco may have issues over the holidays due to potential shipping delays. Not recommended at this time.
3. Do not use CVS. They have already warned and we suspect they will be removed as a trusted partner. Not recommended.
4. Discovery Health. Expensive, with same-day results. Recommended.
5. GoHealth. Expensive, with 15-minute results. Recommended.
6. Atlas Genomics says results typically in 1-2 days. Not recommended.
7. Bartell Drugs. Tests not available for at least 48 hours. Limited holiday availability. Not recommended at this time.
8. Carbon Health. Next day results. Recommended. Commentor Lala said: “Use Carbon Health if testing in Seattle/Flying out with Alaska. They get you results in under 24 hours. I got mine in 12. Lots of appointments daily and last minute as of the 22nd of November. Clearly, Alaska (Airlines) wants travelers and doesn’t want testing to stop that.”
9. City Health. Results within 48 hours of specimen delivery to the lab. Not recommended at this time.
10. Clarity Lab Solutions. Results with 24 hours. Recommended.
11. Color. Limited to UAL passengers originating at SFO. Expensive. Recommended but sold out this week.
12. Kaiser. Members-only. Unclear about holiday testing availability.
13. UW Medicine. Up to 72 hours to obtain results. Not recommended.
14. Walgreens. Up to 72 hours to obtain results. Not recommended. Also, as Susan Z. said, “Walgreens is the only approved testing here and they have no available appointments.”
15. Westpac Labs. Time to obtain results not apparent.
16. Xpress Check.
17. American Airlines/CareNow and LetsGetChecked. Results from 15 minutes and up.
18. Hawaiian Airlines/USBiotek and WorkSiteLabs. Results guaranteed within 36 hours.
19. American Family Care. Time to obtain results not apparent.
Please let us know if there’s anything else you can add, as we welcome your comments.
Beat of Hawaii © photo at Shipwreck Beach Kauai.
My wife and I are flying to Hawaii on May 21, 2021. When we checked Hawaii’s Partners, we saw CVS, which gave us several locations. When we signed up online to have our COVID Test at CVS, one of the questions the for asked is the reason. They had several selections in a dropdown box and the one we selected was “Travel to Hawaii”. We paid for the tests and had our test done on May 18, 2021 and received our results today, May 19, 2021. We have also had both Moderna vaccinations. What do we do now?
Vault Health is a total scam. I wish we had researched them prior to ordering.
There’s no customer service number to contact someone directly and they’ve yet to reply to us over 72 hours after paying for multiple test kits in advance that have yet to even be picked up by UPS according to the tracking number they provided us.
I am in Pacific Northwest (test is in Spokane, WA & I live in N. Idaho). Walgreens’ new appointments open up here at 4pm, 6pm Texas time. So they open up in TX at the same time–I know that bc we booked our daughter’s appt in TX for her.
Yes, the Walgreens has a time stamp. I heard that Walgreens might open up their new availability at midnight in TX. It is highly doubtful the PCR test from CVS will come thru for you in time. Is CVS’s rapid test the NAAT, which is what Hawaii requires? I would opt for a late test at Walgreens on the 22nd or anytime on the 23rd. The key here is finding out when those appointments open up for you. Also, FYI, if you get into Walgreen’s system, they will accept walk-up appointments at their discretion. My husband showed his boarding pass for the next day & they let him in 2 days early. His first test was positive so he had to schedule another test & the only ones open were too late. (We’ve both had covid). I hope this helps.
Wondering if anyone knows more about using Walgreens or CVS.
For Walgreens, does anyone know what time Walgreens releases availability for the rapid testing? I live in San Antonio and there is only one location here with that option and I never see any availability.
For CVS, I noticed on the CVS website that it says that their rapid test isn’t Hawaii approved, but I don’t see that on the Hawaii website. Wondering if they are just saying that to avoid too many requests for that test.
Also, does anyone know if CVS or Walgreens are time stamped. We fly out on Christmas day (our departing flight is 6:45 pm) so would love to have the option of getting the test anytime on the 22 or 23. I’m thinking if push comes to shove and we can’t get the rapid test appts we could get the CVS PCR test on the 22 (if not time stamped) and get processed in time.
Austin, I just remembered that my daughter tested at Walgreens in Dallas. Their time slots open up at 6pm Texas time.
Just following up after earlier exchange.
Submitted a Vault test on 12/9. Got back results the following day. Uploaded to Safe Hawaii site and it was automatically approved. (We dropped test results at a UPS store at about noon. Got confirmation it made it to vault about noon the next day. Test results later that day. We did write “stat Hawaii” on the package.)
Also did a test at XpresCheck at JFK. Got a printed letter after about 30 minutes, and the PDF file was available on the web within 24 hours. When I uploaded this to Safe Hawaii, it said “verification pending.”
Good luck everyone
Aloha, Bill!
Can you tell me the turn around time from placing order fir Vault test to when you actually received the test in your home? We fly to Big Island on Monday morning 12/21 and tried this morning to order Walgreens rapid tests (which were available 2 weeks ago and now they are not)…freaking out a little bit. If anyone has suggestions on where to get a rapid test on Oahu and San Francisco Bay Area, please advise…trying to meet up with my 22 yr old daughter on B.I. who I haven’t seen in 18 months. Mahalo!!!
Aloha!
Tested with Vault on Monday, 12/7/20, at noon. Mailed at 3pm same day. Received results on Tuesday, 12/8/20. Very fast, very simple. Be sure to write ‘STAT HAWAII” on outer envelope.
Mahalo
DAVID R…
The issues with Vault isn’t with Vault – it’s with the fact that UPS doesn’t deliver or pick up on certain days of the week. Plus they appear to not provide testing if you are covered under Medicare!
We have a flight on Monday at 5:10pm, if you go to the Vault Health FAQ it says to take the test Friday morning and then drop off before last air drop, but that means is more than 72h old.
I called the hotline 1-800-gohawaii to understand if this was an issue and they told me it may be. But then why they are saying you can use Vault Health? It seems if you have a late afternoon flight is a no go.
Anyone else has a sample of a Vault Health result? Does it show the a time next to the date when you took the sample?
thanks
Hi Marco.
Yes your point is clear. Others have commented that there is no time stamp on the Vault test, but not sure it is wise to trust your vacation to that. Maybe others can give us a hand.
Aloha.
We used Vault in early November. We took the tests 71 hours in advance of flight time. There was no “time” – just the calendar date – on the results email. I was concerned, but they were accepted when I uploaded. I have no idea if somehow the actual time of day was communicated by Vault to Hawaii, but I seriously doubt it.
Under the current rules, flying over on any of Monday-Wednesday using Vault any any other “ship to lab” tests is very risky. Thursday-Saturday are least risky. If you really want/need to fly on Monday, I recommend being ready to spend the extra $$$ and take the “in person results within a few minutes” test on Monday am if you can make that work.
Hi Marco,
The only thing on our Vault report was the date that the results were obtained. In my case it was at 11:37 pm and my husband’s was after midnight so we actually had reports with different dates on them even though we took them at the same time. No time stamp. We even asked our Vault representative if she was putting the time on something and we were told no. Hope that helps.
Thanks for your answers, cost is not an issue, the problem is tests availability.
Here in SF my wife can book Kaiser, but me and my daughter are left with other options.
Color 15m result is only if you fly United. Color in San Francisco has no more appointments, Carbon Health same but I see every day they add new urgent care appointments for next day, so maybe coming close to the 72h we can try again. City Health at Oakland has random spots coming up, but you need to refresh the page dozens of times.
At this point getting tested twice seems the best option, but I feel horrible to get tests that other people may need.
I wish Southwest would’ve partnered with some lab and had a dedicated spot for each traveler like United does, that seems more a serious approach to me.
Any Southwest traveler here?
Marco