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Getting Covid tested at Chicago O’hare was quick and easy

a blue and orange barriers in a room

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We were waiting on pins and needles to book a flight to visit family for Christmas, and luckily as of the 27th, nothing had been locked down and we booked same day flights on United Polaris to London out of Chicago. We needed Covid tests and luckily there were appointments at the airport for Rapid Antigen testing that qualified for UK entry. I’ll note that you walk up to test as well, but I’d highly recommend just booking an appointment ahead of time here.

Location

Terminal 2 in the bus shuttle center.

a map of an elevator center

It’s opposite the Hilton O’hare…if you enter from the airport side, just cross over and exit the back, go across the street and you’ll see the line.

a building with glass windows

Testing options:

We chose a rapid antigen test which was $120 and done within an hour. You can go here to see the full schedule of options

 

Tips to make the process faster:

people standing in a line in a airport

The Test

You’ll go to an individual testing area and have a test performed through the hole. Results get emailed to you between 25 and 60 minutes. Our came about 45 minutes later.

Recap

I’ve had to take a lot PCR tests and wait days in between. Make sure you double check the country you’re visiting and see if a rapid antigen test qualifies, but it was much cheaper, and delivered within an hour. Without this option we would have been in a pickle since we didn’t book until the morning of our flight and needed to get to O’hare immediately. This made the process very quick, easy, and pieced together perfectly with our last minute plans.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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4 Comments

  • dee December 28, 2021

    So many people-labs-clinics are making SOOO much $$$$ with these overpriced testing centers….

  • John December 28, 2021

    The Medical Industrial Complex thanks you. Please get tested every day and spend a minimum $100.

  • Ryan December 28, 2021

    Good to know, it’s nice that there are a variety of options.

  • JeffP December 28, 2021

    Thanks for sharing. I have noticed that the only Polaris award space is very limited to Europe.

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