331 thoughts on “CVS Pulls Out Of Hawaii Testing | Vault + Others Overwhelmed”

  1. Good morning

    Is Quest Diagnostics Lab still a trusted partner? I’m flying from Florida but not until July 2021

    Thanks for your assistance

  2. How long will the testing requirements last? We have a wedding planned in June and e don’t want our guest having to do a COVID test just for our wedding?

    1. Dawn,

      There is no way of knowing how long a testing program is going to be in place because we have no way of knowing what is going to happen with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.

      If this is a concern for you, I’d suggest getting married someplace other than Hawaii if you’d like guests not to have to test prior to travel!

      Congrats on your impending nuptials.

  3. Just saw that Mayor Caldwell suggested the testing facility at the airport might be able to help travelers “in a bind.” I know my elderly parents would appreciate that as their stuck on layover because their test results came back after 72 hours.

    Have you heard any more about that comment?

    What if, a traveler proves they took the test but their results aren’t yet back, so they are allowed to pay to take a second, rapid test at the airport and quarantine until both test results are back? Gives passengers an incentive to get their original test results in time so they don’t have to pay for two tests. But it also gives a solution to anyone “in a bind” from the an overwhelmed lab.

    1. Paul,

      Your posting about your parents situation continues to come off as entitled because you take no responsibility for making the choice to travel during a pandemic. While I completely understand you are sad and frustrated about the safes travels program not working for you but you accept that risk when decided to try and participate.

      While Mayor Caldwell’s “in a bind” airport testing program must be a solution for future travelers, it isn’t a golden ticket to solve your parents situation. If the mayor chooses to submit a formal proposal to Governor, it is taking him a lot of time to decide if he wants to implement the rules change.

      Here are your parents options and you can choose which is best for your family:

      1) Do a rapid test in Seattle, receive the negative results and rebook them on a flight to Oahu leaving within 72 hours of that test

      2) Have them fly to Hawaii and be subjected to the 14 day quarantine

      3) This because from the way your original post reads it implies they live in FL; have them return to FL. Maybe they can try to participate in the Safe Travels Program again when the countries COVID testing capacity isn’t so stressed because of the rise in cases and needed medical testing.

      Hope you are still able to have a meaningful Thanksgiving with your household and that you all remain safe and healthy but the best way to make that happen isn’t to have gatherings outside your immediate household and not to travel. And making those sacrifices now will actually ensures a greater chance of everyone being at your 2021 Thanksgiving gathering!

  4. You know what the answer is? Don’t come. Just don’t come now. Do take your vacation in the middle of a pandemic to islands that don’t have great medical facilities. How is that so hard to understand?

  5. Only selected Walgreens have the rapid Covid tests. You need the rapid NAAT one for Hawaii. We did it two different days and each time last week got the test results emailed back within a couple hours. When making an appointment for your test on the Walgreen’s site, I found in our area, the new appointments (usually 3 days out) opened up in the late afternoon to early evening. I hope this helps.

  6. I think most are missing the point! The rules were changed mid-game by elected leadership. It is not the testing partners.

    We used vault to come over on Oct 15th, had our results before our flight took off. (Took test on a Monday had results Wed night).

    Since the Governor and other leadership changed testing protocols, that led to the only major testing company CVS to opt out. And everyone else had to go to other partners causing them to be overwhelmed with demand. CVS is doing the right thing as a company and providing service to all that need it and not catering to Hawaii and IGE. And the ones that need it the most are mainland folks that are going thru another spike. They need to be tested to go back to work, see loved ones, etc. The governor put CVS and all of you in a precarious position when he changed the rules without advice or counsel from his own legislature, or circle of advisors and business leaders.

    1. Thanks MD for your comment, it’s a viewpoint many people on this site need to hear!!

      Glad that you were able to participate in safe travels program when it opened in October..

      Wishing you and your family a safe and healthy Thanksgiving!

    1. Thanks so much for this update. Walgreens has an ID NOW test offered only at select locations that is approved and gives results within 24 hrs. Just have to make the appointment 3 days advance. For example, I was able to book a Tues test the Sat before. This is for the mainland. Hope this helps.

  7. I do NOT recommend Vault Health- my test is still in transit in supposed “overnight air” and will not be back within the 72 hour window. I had to cancel my flight. I drove 2 hours to Oakland airport CityHealth and was able to get a 24 hour test and reschedule my flight. I highly recommend CityHealth- they were awesome!!! Unfortunately this process was so stressful we will not be planning travel back to Hawaii in the near future. We really want to be able to support the economy in a safe way, especially since we have family on the islands, but there is too much uncertainty. The state of Hawaii needs to approve more testing partners— there are so many reputable, CLIA approved labs that run PCR COVID tests. Limiting to the small list is too restrictive, and unfortunately is overwhelming the testing partners and is difficult for the majority of people to access.

    1. If you want to support Hawaii, stay home in the middle of a pandemic. We have limited health care, period. What is so hard to understand about that. I wish people would STOP saying they are coming to support our economy, you’re coming for a vacation…period. We don’t need tourists right now, we need to heal because numbers have gone through the roof on outer islands. I hope people with just stop being selfish and then proclaiming they are “helping our economy”….because that is crap. Anyone with good sense would not be getting on a plane in the middle of a global pandemic.

  8. Kaiser cannot guarantee results in 72 hours. We were told it may, and probably will, take up to 5 days! We will most likely have to quarantine, even though we followed the protocol and gave ourselves plenty of time to get our results back in time. So frustrating!!!

  9. Seems like west coast travelers are the only ones attempting HI travel at this time. All of the HI testing partners are west coast. CVS and Walgreens are available where I am (Denver), but with CVS scratched, that leaves Walgreens, which currently offers symptoms-only (non travel) testing due to spiking cases. Had to cancel our trip.

    1. Not sure what you’re talking about. You can absolutely schedule a Rapid test with results being ready within 24hrs. You have to catch it at odd times of the day, but you can definitely get an appointment. For example, it’s currently Wednesday, Nov 25th and there are plenty of open spots for Saturday, Nov 28th for the Thornton location

    2. Much mahalo for canceling your trip. During a global pandemic is not the time to travel to Hawaii. We only have 300 ICU beds for the entire state so please considering coming back when we aren’t in the middle of a pandemic. Right now a lot of things are closed anyway so you wont enjoy it as much. Please dont play around with our lives.

    3. We had no problem with Walgreens in midwest on Sunday. Option available to us was the Rapid Diagnostic Test (ID NOW) – Abbott Labs NAAT. Appointment only, two days in advance. Walgreens stated on website that results back within 24 hours, but this empty Walgreens store must now be a lab. Results back in an hour. HI accepted and we arrived last night. Gratitude because testing in certain areas getting more difficult.

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