Category: Covid-19

For Tyler Holman, getting COVID-19 for the second time was an unwelcome surprise.

I didnt expect to get it again, he said. Only because of the fact I had it once.

Holman, 32-years-old from Farmington, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he and his wife Tabitha both tested positive for COVID in May 2021, around Mothers Day.

Then he got it again in December.

That time, he said, was much worse.

The second time was a massive headache, four days straight, and it wouldnt go away until it finally broke, he recalled. That same night, I ended with a 104-degree temperature that broke the same day, too.

Holman said that the second round hit hard, despite taking precautions.

He explained after contracting COVID the first time, he and Tabitha isolated in their basement and stayed away from their two-year old daughter Jade.

That was just the start of some new precautions.

Got all my vaccination shots, my booster, Holman remembered. Stayed relatively distant from people outside the house as best as I could.

The Centers for Disease Control calls it reinfection a person infected and recovered who becomes infected again.

Holman is not alone.

ABC News contacted health officials across the country and found information showing at least 1.6 million reinfection cases in 24 states.

Numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) show there have been more than 75,000 cases statewide.

This is a common story, said Dr. Beth Thielen, an M Health Fairview infectious disease specialist. Friends who have kids in daycare who got infected in an earlier wave and have tested positive again. Many colleagues whove been fully vaccinated during the pandemic have gotten sick.

Thielen said there could be several reasons for reinfection cases to appear.

Theres waning immunity, she explained. Were seeing the virus change quite a bit, particularly as were seeing more and more global circulation, more people are getting infected, more children are getting infected.

But theres something else.

Minnesotans and people across the U.S. are taking advantage of travel season all while restrictions have eased up in many cases.

A lot of places are doing away with mask requirements, Thielen noted. People are traveling again more, so were seeing circulation, not just of SARS-coV-2, but a lot of respiratory viruses that have been quiet for a while.

She said contracting COVID will provide some level of protection but that getting vaccinated is the best way to stay safe.

I think the good news is that were see people who had vaccinations being relatively protected from severe disease, Thielen said. So despite the fact that theres good circulation, now we arent seeing the strain on the health care system that weve seen during earlier waves of the pandemic.

The CDC recommends testing for those who develop symptoms within ninety days of recovering.

Thielen recommends you might consider carrying a mask if you go into a crowded space and feel more comfortable wearing one.

She also said if you do get sick, anti-viral pills are available that can help.

We have some oral drugs that are available if people get infected to shorten the course of the disease, Thielen notes. I think these are much more widely available than earlier.

She says if you have questions, you should check with a health care professional.

For his part, Holman says hes glad Jade never got sick and that he and his wife have remained healthy.

But he says his family will now be extra careful with health issues surrounding COVID from now on.

I guess at this point, I dont think its ever going to go away, Holman says. Were just going to have to deal with it, and do the best we can to stay as healthy as we can.

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A Farmington man talks about getting reinfected with COVID-19. What doctors say you can do to stay safe. - KSTP

Health leaders said the official counts aren't reflective of the community spread because they don't include at-home tests.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee The Centers for Disease Control said there is a 'low' level of COVID-19 transmission in the community for most of Tennessee.

Just four of the state's 95 counties are in the 'medium' range. Every single other one including all of East Tennesseeremains in the 'low' category.

Still, local health leaders are watching the trends closely. The Knox County Health Department is seeing an average of 70 new confirmed cases a day, up from about 45 a day two weeks ago.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg. It's not a true reflection of the burden of illness in our community," said Roberta Sturm, Director of Communicable and Environmental Disease at KCHD. "But, if we are seeing those numbers increase, it makes sense that those numbers of at-home tests or tests that aren't being reported are increasing as well."

That's why health leaders are using hospitalizations as a benchmark of community spread. The volume of COVID-19 patients is slowly increasing in East Tennessee hospitals and at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

"That comes from people who previously were unvaccinated or didn't complete their vaccination series ... people who didn't get a booster," said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at VUMC. "It's the booster that really provides much more solid protection against severe disease that requires hospitalization."

Most cases doctors are seeing right now are mild. Sturm said that's one reason testing is so important.

"If you have signs and symptoms of a cold, if you have a runny nose, a fever, anything along those lines, don't chance it," she said. "Go take a test, take an at-home test, call your provider."

If you're immunocompromised or at a higher risk, Dr. Schaffner said it's a good time to start wearing masks again.

"This virus hasn't disappeared," he said. "If you're at risk of severe disease, please be cautious while you're having fun."

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COVID-19 cases rising in East Tennessee again - WBIR.com

People with certain inflammatory immune conditions affecting the joints, bowel and skin, such as rheumatoid arthritis, may have been more at risk of dying or needing hospital care if they got COVID-19 before vaccination compared with the general population, according to a new study published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

The findings are based on analysis of 17 million patient GP records in England during the first phase of the pandemic from March-September 2020, when the UK was in lockdown and before vaccines were available. Since then, many of the people treated with medicines analyzed in this study have been specifically targeted for third primary vaccine doses followed by boosters and are on a list of people to offered anti-viral treatments.

The study was conducted by a team from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) using the OpenSAFELY platform with colleagues from the St John's Institute of Dermatology at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, University of Oxford, King's College London, the University of Exeter and University of Edinburgh.

More than one million patients in the analysis had immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). These included inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, conditions affecting the joints such as rheumatoid arthritis, and skin conditions including psoriasis.

After accounting for age, sex, deprivation, and smoking status, the research suggests that people with IMIDs affecting the bowel, joints and skin had a 23% increased risk of COVID-19-related death and 23% increased risk of COVID-related hospitalization compared to people without IMIDs before the introduction of vaccines and anti-viral treatments.

People with inflammatory joint disease appeared to be at greatest risk compared to those with gut or skin disease. Compared to the general population, the risk of death was estimated by the researchers to be approximately eight extra deaths per 1,000 people with joint disease in a year (without taking into account other differences between people with and without joint disease, e.g. age and other health conditions).

During the height of the pandemic in England in 2020, many people with inflammatory conditions affecting the bowel, joints and skin were advised to stay at home and shield because doctors did not know how COVID-19 would affect them, or what the effects of drugs such as immune modifying therapies used to treat IMIDs would be."

Sinad Langan, Study Senior Author, Wellcome Senior Clinical Fellow and Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

"Our study provides the most accurate assessment of risk of severe COVID-19 before vaccination in people with IMIDs and with the drugs used for their treatment. We hope this analysis will help to inform evidence-based policy as we continue to live with COVID-19."

The team also investigated the impact of certain medication, identifying around 200,000 people who were on immune modifying drugs. The study found there was no overall increased risk of COVID-19 death or hospitalization for patients on most targeted immune modifying drugs (often referred to as biologics) compared to standard systemics (that work on the wider immune system) given to treat this group of conditions. For example, there was no increase in severe COVID-19 infections (death, critical care admission or death, or hospitalization) in people taking most of the targeted immune modifying therapies examined -; including TNF blockers such as adalimumab -; compared to more commonly used standard immune suppressants such as methotrexate.

Professor Catherine Smith, consultant dermatologist at St John's Institute of Dermatology at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We know that certain factors, such as being older, increase a person's risk of suffering severe COVID-19 infection. But until now we did not know whether severe COVID-19 risk increases with ongoing health conditions related to problems with the immune system such as arthritis, Crohn's disease and psoriasis.

"Our study provides important information that will help guide policymakers to ensure prevention strategies such as vaccination, and early intervention treatments such as anti-virals are targeted towards those most at risk.

"Overall our findings with respect to immune-modifying drugs are reassuring. It's important that people continue to take prescribed medication and discuss treatment decisions with their physicians and getting vaccines according to recommendations."

The OpenSAFELY platform accesses an unprecedented scale of data accessed through a Trusted Research Environment to preserve an individual's privacy. It provides the full dataset of all raw, single-event-level clinical events for all individuals at 40% of all GP practices in England, including all tests, treatments, diagnoses, and clinical and demographic information linked to various sources of hospital data including, for the first time, a comprehensive dataset of medications supplied by hospitals.

This study was made possible through OpenSAFELY links to a new source of data with information on "high cost" drugs. Due to the way these specialist drugs are prescribed, for example through schemes via home care companies, this means they are not usually on GP records. The study marks the first time researchers have been able to analyze this group of drugs in this way, and highlights why access to these data is critical for research.

Co-author Dr Nick Kennedy, Consultant Gastroenterologist and Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter, said: "Our study is an example of the high quality, collaborative research that has taken place during the pandemic using OpenSafely's innovative research platform. For patients with inflammatory bowel disease, the overall message is reassuring, although there was some increase in the risk of being hospitalised in those who had COVID-19.

"Our research also shows that the targeted drugs we commonly use to treat Crohn's and colitis are not associated with increased risk of poor outcomes."

Source:

Journal reference:

MacKenna, B., et al. (2022) Risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes associated with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and immune-modifying therapies: a nationwide cohort study in the OpenSAFELY platform. The Lancet Rheumatology. doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(22)00098-4

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People with inflammatory immune conditions had increased risk of COVID-19-related death before vaccination - News-Medical.Net

Overwhelming majority backs age limit of 21 years to buy AR-15 style rifle: pollWill monkeypox spread as fast as COVID?

The White House COVID-19 response team and public health officials will hold a press briefing Thursday morning.

The event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET.

Watch the video above.

The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.

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Watch live: White House COVID-19 response team holds press briefing - The Hill

17.5 million people have died from COVID-19 in the 20 months since WTO talks about relaxing COVID-19 intellectual property (IP) rules began - the equivalent of nearly 30,000 people a day said campaigners from Oxfam and the Peoples Vaccine Alliance today ahead of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial. Over half of deaths caused by COVID-19 have been in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

The IP waiver, which India and South Africa proposed in October 2020 and is backed by over 100 countries, would allow low- and middle-income countries to produce their own cheaper generic COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments. However, a few countries the UK, Switzerland, and those in the EU have blocked WTO talks from reaching an agreement that could have saved countless lives.

Now, instead of focusing on the IP waiver, WTO negotiations are focused on a dangerous and limited alternative. Campaigners warn that the alternative proposal will not help producers in lower-income countries as it adds more hurdles preventing poorer countries from producing vaccines. In addition, it only covers vaccines, not tests or treatments, is not global in scope, and does not cover all IP or technology transfer.

Anna Marriott, Oxfams health policy lead said:

Nearly thirty thousand people around the world have died every day since South Africa and India first proposed the IP waiver back in October 2020. If the world had acted immediately then many of these people could still be alive today. Yet, the UK and EU countries have continually sought to delay and dilute any meaningful outcome at the WTO and have refused to listen to the concerns of poorer countries.

This is outrageous hypocrisy from leaders who said vaccines should be a global public good yet have worked for 20 months to derail the very process that could have delivered that promise.

With the world facing multiple crises on top of COVID, it is incomprehensible that we are still debating whether or not its a good idea for poorer countries to be able to produce their own vaccines, tests, and treatments for this and any future pandemics.

Currently, less than a fifth of people in African countries have been fully vaccinated. For more than a year, vaccines were not available and once supplies began, they were sporadic and too often delivered too close to expiry to be used in full. This has undermined the trust between the EU and countries in Africa, and countries ability to plan effective vaccine rollouts.

Despite this and the logistical challenges faced, the African continent has collectively administered 70 percent of the doses it has received. This is higher than many European countries, such as Portugal (68 percent), Austria (58 percent), and Cyprus (69 percent). These rollouts in African countries were also achieved with more limited health budgets, where per capita spending on health is on average 33 times lower than in high-income countries.

Oxfam and the Peoples Vaccine Alliance warned that the deadlock at the WTO on an IP waiver risks ongoing trade negotiations and undermines the credibility of the organization, especially as the global economy is facing the prospect of a recession coupled with rising food and fuel prices.

Julia Kosgei, policy advisor at the Peoples Vaccine Alliance, said:

The EU says they are listening to their African partners, but in reality, they are turning a deaf ear to their calls for a real vaccine waiver and are instead in bed with Big Pharma.

EU countries should finally show some flexibility and good faith needed to secure a genuine IP waiver and rebuild trust with the world at this critical moment.

Campaigners warn that the current vaccine apartheid is likely to be repeated with the next generation vaccines as well as for COVID treatments. Putting up new barriers to making vaccines could set a dangerous precedent for future pandemics, they warn.

Kosgei added: Why should people in lower-income countries be forced to face todays COVID variants with yesterdays vaccines, while rich countries once again monopolize the supply of new vaccines made to protect against new variants?

We dont want charity; we want solidarity, and we want our rights! We call on all governments to finally do the right thing and back the waiving of IP for COVID vaccines, tests, and treatments, for this and any future pandemics.

Notes to editors

The number of deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic is based on the central estimates from the Economist's excess death model. South Africa and India proposed an IP waiver at the WTO on 15 October 2020. In the 597 days since the waiver was proposed (up to 4 June 2022), 17,543,563 people are estimated to have died.

The administered percentage for Portugal, Austria and Cyprus is based on the total doses administered according to Our World in Data divided by total deliveries (minus doses that were then donated) according to the EUs Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The African CDC reports that 70.4 percent of doses have been administered.

According to the WHOs Global Health Expenditure Database, African countries spend on average 68 US dollars per capita on health compared to high-income countries that spend 2,239 US dollars. This is based on Government spending and capital expenditure in 2019 using current US dollars.

The new proposal was tabled by the WTO secretariat after discussions between the so-called Quad countries, comprised of the European Union, the United States, South Africa, and India. Only the EU has agreed to the text. It focuses only on COVID-19 vaccines and not on treatments. It includes new barriers to vaccine production, such as an impossible requirement to identify and list every patent relating to a vaccine before using flexibilities that are already in the TRIPS agreement. There are also measures to prevent low-income countries from sharing unused doses with one another.

Oxfams Pandemic of Greed briefing note: over half (54%) of all deaths caused by COVID-19 have been in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Contact information

Jade Tenwick in Brussels, Belgium | jade.tenwick@oxfam.org | Work: +32 (0) 473 56 22 60 | Whatsapp only +32 (0) 484 81 22 94

People's Vaccine Media Team | media@peoplesvaccine.org

For updates, please follow @NewsFromOxfam and @Oxfam.

Please support Oxfam's Coronavirus Response Appeal.

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Nearly 30000 people have died every day from COVID-19 since WTO talks on vaccine intellectual property began - World - ReliefWeb

The first large cruise ship of the season arrived in Juneau on April 25, 2022. (Photo by Paige Sparks/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/08COVIDCRUISE-NPR-One.mp3

Mohammad Palwala went on his first cruise last year. The cyber security engineer from Dallas sailed through Southeast Alaska aboard Royal Caribbeans Ovation of the Seas.

And I told my family, Its like, the best thing ever. You get a full-on vacation on the cruise, he said.

There was lots of entertainment on board and amazing experiences in Southeast Alaska communities. And, as far as COVID-19, it felt safe. Everyone had to test negative before boarding, just about everyone was vaccinated, and the ship was only at 30% capacity. That was in September.

Palwala wanted to share the experience with his extended family of 12. He booked another Alaska cruise on the same ship with almost the same itinerary. They sailed in May. This time, the ship was closer to full, with about 4,000 passengers. It wasnt like before.

Very understaffed, he said. We did not have shows on we only had like, two shows on the whole of the cruise. Lack of entertainment, lack of entertainment for kids.

There were long lines to disembark, facilities on board that were shuttered even eating became disappointing. His whole family is vegetarian, and he was told the kitchen was too short staffed to cook up proper meals for them.

Day after day, the SAME thing. I mean, yeah, not even a few things, the same things. So whatever we ate in lunch, we ate in dinner, he said.

His family ate a lot of lentil soup with rice.

Immediately after the cruise, 10 out of 12 people in his party tested positive for COVID.They were far from alone.

Experienced cruisers say staff shortages mean theyre having less fun. But they were also surprised by how widely COVID-19 seemed to spread. They want the public to know that lots of passengers are getting infected, and that on board, theyre left in the dark as the risk level changes.

Palwala said there was a Facebook group with hundreds of passengers from that same sailing. At first, it was a fun space where people posted what to do in port and shared photos. After the cruise, it turned into an informal COVID tracking site with tips for dealing with Royal Caribbean customer service.

Lorna Bradley from Monterey, California, was on that same cruise, and in that same Facebook group.

Somebody finally just posted a poll because so many people were reporting COVID, Bradley said. So, of the 400 passengers who happened to see the poll, 25% of those, 100 people, came in and said, Ive got COVID. I would have had no idea if I werent in that Facebook group since I didnt get sick. I wouldve had no idea there was that much COVID on board.

She later learned through the group that shed been in close contact with a cabin steward who had gotten COVID. She was never formally notified of it. Even general information about the ships COVID status was noticeably absent.

And it would have been so easy for the captains morning announcements to just remind us, you know, Oh, we have 20 passengers on board, you know, currently having COVID symptoms and you know, just a reminder, you might want to wear a mask, she said. I mean, none of that happened at all, which I found surprising.

Bradley is extra COVID-conscious because she has a medical condition that puts her at higher risk of complications. She also takes care of an elderly parent whos at even higher risk.

When there are COVID cases (on) board, on your floor, down the hall, with your cabin steward, passengers need to know so that they can make better choices for themselves, she said.

Palwala said he wouldnt have taken his family if hed known more in advance.

Definitely not, because of my wife mostly, because she is pregnant. If I had known, I would have not gone, he said.

Conditions vary from ship to ship, and from sailing to sailing.

For example, the Carnival Spirit made headlines for a badly managed outbreak when it was coming to Seattle to begin its season in Alaska this year.

Bruce Hogarth had booked the Spirits second Alaska sailing this season. He almost canceled his cruise when he heard about the outbreak. He had travel insurance, but it wouldnt cover a cancellation for fear of COVID. He rolled the dice.

And for the first four days, it was a wonderful time, Hogarth said. We enjoyed it. The service was good. The food was good. It was up to par in my mind. And then I came down with COVID, then three days later my wife came down with COVID.

He thinks the cruise line could have done more to avoid people getting sick. His isolation went better than passengers on the earlier Spirit sailing.

It was the opposite, he said. I had lost my appetite and I wasnt eating a lot. They would check in and say, Did you want to order anything? You havent ordered in awhile. So they were very gracious that way.

Hogarth lives near Victoria, British Columbia, one of the stops on the cruise. He was able to arrange to disembark there and finish his isolation period at home, instead of at a hotel in Seattle. He said a Canadian government official who walked him through his isolation obligations told him 127 customers and 42 crew from the cruise were infected.

Passengers are relying on second hand information like this or Facebook polls because the cruise lines and public health authorities arent sharing the information they already have about COVID on cruise ships.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not respond to questions about its COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships and data reporting.

The government of Canada addresses the risk with direct language on its cruise ship travel page: The virus can spread easily between people in close quarters, such as on cruise ships. The chance of being infected with COVID-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if youre fully vaccinated.

Continued here:

Experienced travelers say staff shortages and COVID-19 outbreaks are spoiling their Alaska cruises - KTOO

"The development and rapid deployment of vaccines against COVID-19 represent a fundamental step towards ending the pandemic, protecting health systems and helping to restore global economies.

Information on the development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines in the WHO European Region, together with guidance, tools and and training are crucial for countries to prepare for and implement successful COVID-19 vaccination programmes and sustain routine immunization services."

Go here to read the rest:

Vaccines and immunization and COVID-19 - World Health Organization

NORTH BEND, Ore. -- Researchers from the OSU COVID-19 Wastewater-based Surveillance Team released data yesterday that pointed to a severe outbreak of COVID variants in the area of North Bend.

Since 2020, researchers at Oregon State University have been testing sewage for trace amounts of COVID-19 and variants of the disease. These testing efforts are part of a statewide program that will continue until summer of 2023. Wastewater samples from several treatment facilities are sent to OSU labs to be tested twice a week. Experts say that this method is a cheap and accurate way to gauge how much COVID is in a community.

On Tuesday, researchers from OSU released data gathered by this method that suggests the city of North Bend may be beginning to experience a severe outbreak of COVID. According to OSU researchers, North Bends detection rate has been increasing since May 11 and the most recent data shows concentrations of the virus that have been linked to increased hospitalizations and fatalities in other instances.

While the virus has only recently reached very strong levels of concentration according to the data, additional preventative measures are recommended to curtail the outbreak.

Excerpt from:

Signs of severe COVID-19 outbreak detected in North Bend wastewater - KEZI TV

Paxlovid: What health officials want you to know about the oral COVID-19 treatment  WWMT-TV

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Paxlovid: What health officials want you to know about the oral COVID-19 treatment - WWMT-TV

**U.S. citizens should take both U.S. and Greek quarantine requirements into account before traveling to Greece. U.S. citizens should have a plan in place on what to do should they test positive for COVID-19 while traveling abroad.**

Greek Quarantine Requirements

If youve tested positive for COVID-19, please follow Greek Government guidance. U.S. citizens in Greece are subject to Greek government regulations and should be prepared to quarantine if required by Greek government regulations. As of June 2022 the Greek government advises the following:

Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 must stay in isolation for at least five days (counting the day of the positive test as day 0) and avoid contact with other people.

If after five days of isolation you have no symptoms, or symptoms improve and you have no fever for 24 hours (without using anti-fever medication), you may leave isolation.

If fever persists, prolong isolation until the fever has completely subsided.

You must use a heavy duty mask (N95/KN95/FFP2) or use a double mask for at least another five days after the end of isolation.

Extending Your Stay After a Positive Test

Travelers should be ready to make plans to extend their stay at their own expense if they unexpectedly test positive for COVID and cannot travel. The U.S. government cannot pay for accommodation if you unexpectedly test positive and cannot fly home as planned. Options to consider include: booking new accommodations online, extending a stay at current accommodation, working through a health/travel insurance company, checking for travel insurance coverage through your credit cards, working with a travel company (if travel was booked through a particular company), and requesting assistance from friends and family. Getting health/travel insurance prior to a trip is highly recommended: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/your-health-abroad.html.

Medical Services in Greece

If you are feeling unwell and require medical care, you can obtain medical treatment. Robust medical care is available in major metropolitan areas; less so on islands and rural areas. Click here for details of medical service providers in Greece. COVID-19 tests are widely available at many major hospitals pharmacies, and laboratories in Greece, as well as the Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport.

Returning to the U.S.

If you have tested positive and wish to return to the United States, click here to review the COVID-19 testing requirements for all air travelers to the United States over 2 years old. You can also review information regarding the CDCs requirements to travel internationally by clicking here.

People who have recovered from COVID-19 can continue to test positive for up to 3 months after their infection. Check with your airline to confirm the and documentation they require of travelers who have recovered from COVID-19 and still test positive, as well as the timing for travel after recovery from COVID (generally, at least 5 or 10 days after the positive test, if you have no symptoms).

If you have had a positive viral test on a sample taken during the past 90 days, follow the guidance below.

Step 1: Keep your positive test result! You may still need the test result to provide evidence of recovery from COVID-19. If you used a self-test, you will need to test again with a laboratory to have a test result in your name as part of your documentation of recovery.

Step 2: Do not plan to travel until a full 10 days after your symptoms started or the date your positive test was taken if you have no symptoms. Check with your airline to verify the precise timing and documentation required to be able to fly.

Step 3: If after 10 days you continue to test positive but have no symptoms, 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. The positive test result and letter together are referred to as documentation of recovery. The letter 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. In Greece you may need to speak to a private doctor in order to obtain a letter as they are not commonly available to travelers who are not part of the national health system. For information on medical services in Greece, including pathologists and other physicians that may provide documentation of recovery letters, please see our website here. Some medical services that may be able to assess recovery include:

Athens Dr. Chrysoula Liakou: 27 Vas. Sophias Str. 10675 Kolonaki Tel: 211-013-8038, cell: 6944229717

Mykonos Dr. Thrasivoulos Kontomitros/ General Practice: Mykoniatiki Hygeia Medical Center, tel: 2289-024211, cell: 6944338292

Santorini Dr. Aristotelis Mastakas/ General Practice: Medical Center Fira (Fira Main Square, behind Eurobank. tel: 2286-028736, cell: 6944384869

Step 4: 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. For further information on CDC travel requirements please check the CDCs website.

Please note: The Department of State assumes no responsibility or liability for the professional ability or reputation of, or the quality of services provided by, the entities or individuals whose names appear on the above lists. Inclusion on a list is in no way an endorsement by the Department or the U.S. government. Names are listed alphabetically, and the order in which they appear has no other significance. The information on the list is provided directly by the local service providers; the Department is not in a position to vouch for such information

By U.S. Consulate in Thessaloniki | 9 June, 2022 | Topics: Events, News

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Information for U.S. citizens who have tested positive for COVID-19 - US Embassy in Greece - USEmbassy.gov