With COVID-19 circumstances on the rise as soon as once more, you are doubtless checking your at-home COVID-19 take a look at kits to ensure they have not expired because you obtained them final 12 months. Nonetheless, even when your field exhibits they’re not good, it is doable the shelf life has been prolonged (see beneath).
Should you discover they’ve expired, now you can order extra free COVID-19 checks by USPS. For example, the field of iHealth take a look at kits I had stated to make use of by July 2022 and has not been prolonged any additional so I tossed them.
Beneath, you may test the at-home COVID-19 checks listed on the US Meals and Drug Administration’s web site to see which manufacturers have had their shelf lives prolonged.
What do COVID-19 take a look at expiration dates imply?
The expiration date listed in your field of COVID-19 checks is the ultimate day the take a look at is predicted to carry out successfully. Usually, the FDA authorizes at-home take a look at kits with a shelf lifetime of about 4 to 6 months, however that shelf life might be prolonged if the producer finds extra information that exhibits the checks are nonetheless correct previous the expiration date.
Can I exploit a COVID take a look at equipment after it expires?
Until the FDA has prolonged the shelf lifetime of your field of COVID-19 checks, it is not really useful you utilize them after they’ve expired. This is why: The COVID-19 take a look at elements may degrade or break down over time, resulting in inaccurate or invalid take a look at outcomes.
See beneath to seek out out in case your field of COVID-19 checks continues to be OK to make use of, because it’s doable the expiration date has been prolonged.
How do I do know if the shelf lifetime of my COVID checks has been prolonged?
If the producer finds that the shelf life is longer than the anticipated 4 to 6 months, it may possibly request that the FDA authorize an prolonged expiration date. As soon as that occurs, the producer might notify clients of the brand new expiration dates. Nonetheless, should you did not purchase the checks through the producer, you doubtless will not obtain any notifications.
For the newest info on the expiration dates on your COVID-19 take a look at kits, you’ll want to test the FDA’s At-Residence OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Exams webpage.
On that web page, the FDA web page lists COVID-19 checks alphabetically, or you should utilize a search field to seek out your take a look at straight. Within the far proper column of a desk, the FDA lists the shelf life for every take a look at and whether or not it has been prolonged. If the expiration date has been prolonged, an extra hyperlink is typically offered information on precise expiration dates for particular take a look at heaps.
The hyperlinks beneath embody lot numbers and expiration dates for the manufacturers of at-home COVID-19 checks which have had their expiration dates prolonged by the FDA. You could find the lot quantity on your at-home COVID take a look at on its field, normally on a sticker with its expiration date.
Should you do not see something on the FDA web page, you may also test the producer to see in the event that they’ve posted a letter from the FDA that their checks have been prolonged.
