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CDC still advises against travel during COVID-19 pandemic as spring break looms

Virus Outbreak Holiday Travel
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Spring break is a popular time for many people to get out of town, even though the CDC still recommends avoiding travel.

But new federal rules require all air travelers returning to the United States to have a negative COVID-19 test that must be done no more than three days before your return.

Some now wonder if a recent COVID-19 vaccination could trigger a false positive.

"That has been a very confusing point for people because some people have heard some people get vaccinated and they test positive for COVID. The reason they test positive for COVID is because they have COVID," says Arizona Medical Association president Dr. Ross Goldberg.

He says all the vaccines currently being used work by building antibodies to the spike protein on the coronavirus.

If you've been vaccinated, Dr. Goldberg says an antibody test will come back positive, but PCR and antigen tests will not.

Dr. Goldberg says none of the vaccines contain live virus, "they have a piece of the mRNA that makes the spike protein, so it shouldn't trigger anything."