COVID-19
COVID-19 test kits may be useful even after stamped expiration date |
FDA may have extended deadline, so check with manufacturer |
Published Wednesday, September 28, 2022 12:00 pm |
STOCK PHOTO |
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration encourages people to check with manufacturers of COVID-19 test kits to determine if they can be used beyond the expiration date. |
Have your at-home COVID-19 tests expired?
If so, don’t throw them away just yet. They may have an extended shelf life.
If you have some home test kits from earlier this year amid the Omicron surge, chances are they are expired or nearing their expiration date.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not recommend using COVID-19 diagnostic tests past the authorized expiration date.
“In general, we don't recommend people using expired tests of any kind,” said Dr. Charles Bregier, Novant Health’s medical director of employee occupational health and corporate health. “Now we have had some instances for some COVID testing where expiration dates came around and the FDA and the manufacturer would do research and they would extend the expiration date. If you have COVID tests and they're expired, go online, check with the manufacturer, see if they've extended the expiration date.”
Even though the box says a test is expired, the date may have been extended by the FDA. These viral tests and its parts may degrade or break down over time causing inaccurate results to appear.
Studies show that shelf life is how long the test is expected to perform and is measured from the date it was manufactured. The expiration date on the box label is set at the end of the shelf life and the date through which the test is expected to perform correctly.
The FDA typically authorizes kits for four to six months based on initial lab results, but it may be extended as more data is collected. Once manufacturers of the kits have more data for 12 to 18 months out, they will reach out to the FDA and request they authorize a longer shelf life.
“It all varies on the manufacturer and how long they've been out,” Bregier said. “I'm quite sure that there is an expiration date written on the box and just look and see what that date is.”
After receiving authorization, the dates are updated and customers may be informed of the change. If you did not directly purchase a COVID test from the manufacturer, you may not receive a notice.
To find out new expiration dates for at-home tests go to fda.gov and check the list of authorized at home OTC COVID-19 diagnostic tests.
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