Hello Anglo-American friends! We've had an incredibly stressful July and I wanted to put down our experience here in case it helps anyone else. I've found almost nothing about this on the internet.
We were supposed to go to the US this summer. After reading here and external reviews of Qured I purchased all our departure tests early so we could book time slots ASAP. Shortly after, my daughter's class had to isolate due to a student testing positive, and during this period my daughter and I tested positive on LFT and PCRs. DH tested negative on LFT and PCRs.
Knowing we'd likely test positive (even after our isolation), and going by the CDC requirements, we knew we'd need to obtain "recovery documentation" from a doctor or public health official on official letterhead in order to travel to the US. I booked an appointment with QuickMD, which advertises these letters, however the doctor didn't feel comfortable writing the letter because she's only licensed in some states and not in the UK (I was upfront with the support staff about our situation before I even booked the appointment). QuickMD offered me another appointment with a different doctor or a refund.
In the meantime we called everyone from our local GP to private clinics across the UK, including travel clinics, to see if anyone knew of a doctor that could provide this type of letter. Eventually a 119 worker told me my positive test will show up in the NHS app, but no one in the UK will be able to issue a letter as described by the CDC. We were heartbroken and probably a bit panicky, and we cancelled our flight. On a whim I took an LFT to see how true it is that you continue to test positive, and 11 days after symptoms I tested negative. My daughter wanted to take one and seven days after symptoms hers was negative too.
We have rescheduled our flight, which of course is much more expensive now, oh well. It was really easy to move our Qured appointments. However, compared to when I booked them for our earlier flight we had many fewer time/day options. So fingers crossed we'll test negative on their rapid tests and we can fly out. We figure it's worth rolling dice, so to speak. I'll update this thread if anything changes.
TLDR:
--Book your Qured tests early to get a spot you want
--The only way to guarantee a positive test before flying is to quarantine (we are double-vaccinated, mask-wearing people who still got Covid)
--We could not find a provider, public, private, online or in person, in the UK that can provide CDC-compliant "recovery documentation" letters
--You might and might not show up as positive on LFT after Covid (both NHS and CDC advise not doing PCR testing for 90 days)
