Is It Ethical to Get Tested for Coronavirus Before Traveling?

It has been a tough year for Anne Smith, owner of Travel & Events Extraordinaire in Columbia, Md.

“The amount of travel I normally would be booking has completely come to a standstill,” she said. “This is my livelihood, and everything I had on the books for 2020 has dissipated.”

Smith has been fielding inquiries and booking vacations for clients interested in traveling next summer and in early fall of 2021. However, she says she will not receive any income from those trips until they happen. 

“Unemployment, thank god, has been the lifeline for me,” she said.

A 25-year travel industry veteran, Smith specializes in a number of Caribbean destinations where COVID-19 pretesting mandates have been part of tourism restarts, allowing U.S. travelers to visit the tropical islands in recent weeks. Despite her agency’s extraordinary financial difficulties, Smith still does not feel comfortable booking vacations for clients that require proof of a negative COVID-19 test before boarding a plane.

“There aren’t a lot of tests available in certain areas,” she said. “If you’re taking those tests away so someone can vacation, I don’t think that’s the smartest, most efficient way to utilize those tests. People are dying from this. So, for the sake of going on vacation? To me that just doesn’t sound like the best use of those tests.”

The American Medical Association (AMA) raised similar concerns in a letter sent earlier this month to Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services, urging him to update current COVID-19 testing prioritization guidelines so tests go to those with medically indicated needs.  

“The supply chain for testing supplies has been under tremendous strain from overwhelming global demand,” the Aug. 11 letter reads. “Laboratories in hospitals and academic centers have been particularly hard hit by strains on the supply chain and have been unable to obtain a consistent supply of reagents, swabs, plastics, viral transport media and other items that they require.”

No additional manufacturing capacity for already limited testing supplies is likely to be available before the start of next year, according to the AMA, and the nation is now seeing a substantial increase in demand for testing of asymptomatic individuals. 

“These include tests for employees going back to work, students returning to colleges and universities and individuals wishing to engage in non-essential travel,” the letter reads. “Without improvement in available supplies, we simply do not have the resources to meet the huge demand for testing by asymptomatic individuals without exposure to COVID-19.” 

Jack Richards, president and CEO of Pleasant Holidays, says several members of his sales team across the country have reported challenges for customers trying to fulfill COVID-19 pretest requirements.

“In Florida, for example, you can’t get a test back until five or seven days because cases are surging,” Richards said. “So, that’s very, very problematic in that area.” 

Richards says he has heard more discussion in recent weeks about whether COVID-19 tests should be reserved only for essential purposes, and he acknowledges just how difficult that topic is for those in tourism.

“Is travel really essential?” he asked. “The answer to that question is it depends on your point of view.”

Is travel really essential? The answer to that question is it depends on your point of view.

Pleasant has seen more bookings recently to destinations that do not require COVID-19 pretests, according to Richards, including a number of U.S. drive markets and several destinations in Mexico. He does note, however, that bookings have also been up for Tahiti, which requires proof of a negative test taken 72 hours prior to boarding a flight and also tests visitors again four days after arrival. 

RELATED: How French Polynesia Is Faring With COVID-19 One Month After Its Reopening

“If that’s the only way to get there, yes, because this is my business,” he said, when asked if it is appropriate to be testing for a vacation when COVID-19 testing supplies in the U.S. are limited. “I have to continue to stay in business, so I have to do everything possible to get people traveling again.”

Peter Vlitas, senior vice president of airline relations for Travel Leaders’ parent company, Internova Travel Group, is hopeful that the approval of new tests and better efficiency management is improving U.S. COVID-19 testing capacity. He also says hundreds of thousands of families rely on the tourism industry. 

“We need to support one of the biggest drivers of the global economy, which is travel and tourism,” Vlitas said. “Currently, travel possibilities for Americans are limited, and those who want to travel will and should in order to keep the industry alive.” 

Although his company is booking near-term trips requiring COVID-19 pretesting, Classic Vacations president David Hu says that market is currently not a major focus for the luxury wholesaler. Classic is instead putting more effort into building a book of business six months to a year from now.

Hu describes the choice to undergo COVID-19 testing for a vacation when test supplies are limited as a question of personal philosophy, but he does feel location is important.

“In spots severely impacted in terms of supply, my personal view is there is a responsibility to the greater good to let those who need a test to have it first, and not do it for the purposes of travel,” he said.

In spots severely impacted in terms of supply, my personal view is there is a responsibility to the greater good to let those who need a test to have it first, and not do it for the purposes of travel.

Dr. Jeffrey Toll, medical director for Los Angeles-based COVID-19 testing provider Good Life Medical Services, says none of the private labs his business partners with have seen any testing supply shortages in recent weeks. 

One of a number of concierge medical services in Los Angeles currently promising quick turnarounds for COVID-19 tests, Good Life Medical can return results in as little as 24 hours, according to Toll.

Toll says he has been busy in recent weeks with symptomatic clients as well as people who need tests before surgical procedures; companies looking to test employees; and travelers trying to meet 72-hour pretesting requirements for several tourism destinations.  

RELATED: Why the 72-Hour COVID-19 Test Requirement Is Causing Trip Cancellations

Air Tahiti Nui currently recommends Good Life Medical on its website. The company charges $125 per person for a drive-thru COVID-19 test, but there is an additional $125 fee to expedite results in 24 hours.

“When people are testing proactively — whether that means for a vacation or seeing family members or testing their businesses — we are really preventing the spread of the disease,” Toll said. “If we’re making sure someone is not infected before they get on a flight and potentially expose all these other people, I do think we’re doing a service to decreasing the pandemic overall.” 

If we’re making sure someone is not infected before they get on a flight and potentially expose all these other people, I really do think we’re doing a service to decreasing the pandemic overall.

Dr. Timothy Brewer, a UCLA professor of infectious disease and epidemiology, says he’s not a proponent of COVID-19 testing for vacations at this time, given the country “doesn’t have the testing capacity necessary to meet our public health and clinical care needs.”

According to Brewer, hospitalizations, deaths and test positivity have all dropped recently in Los Angeles county, but the new case totals have not really come down much. He also says the lack of a COVID-19 testing supply shortage Toll reported is not a surprise. 

“If you’re willing to spend enough money, you can tend to get around shortages,” Brewer said. “Some private labs may be able to access reagents that public labs and others may not be able to just by spending more. Part of it is how much are you willing to pay?”

Although Brewer feels the decision to travel is a choice that individuals need to make for themselves, he says that COVID-19 pretesting for vacations diverts limited resources away from facilities where the tests could be put to better use.

“If we really want travel to open up and have people freely move around again, the way to do that is to get the pandemic under control everywhere,” he said. “It’s not to try to create these little bubbles where you test and then you can join the bubble.”