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What is a test-kit expiration date extension?
Sep 29, 2023 · 1:17. Consumers who've ordered free home coronavirus tests through a federal website could be in for a surprise: they might get kits with expiration dates that passed months ago. But experts...
- Ken Alltucker
- Health Reporter
- Overview
- Why did the FDA extend expiration dates?
- Which test brands can you use after they've "expired"?
- What happens if a COVID-19 test is truly expired?
With COVID-19 cases on the rise again in the U.S., Americans are reviving a familiar precautionary measure: Screening for the virus using rapid at-home tests.
Many people still have kits the government formerly provided to all households for free, especially as some schools and businesses again require tests. Yet different COVID-19 tests bear expiration dates on their packaging that have long since passed, raising questions about whether they're still effective.
Once in short supply, test kits are now easier to come by, but they can be costly in stores, roughly $25 for a pack of two tests. It's also still possible for both insured and uninsured people to get free testing. The government is once again offering free rapid at-home tests by mail, which you can order online at COVIDTests.gov.
•More free COVID-19 tests can be ordered now, as uptick looms
•Free COVID test kits are coming back. Here's how to get them.
If you still have any older tests stored away, the good news is that some COVID-19 test kits that are past their expiration dates may still be effective. Here's how to find out if your COVID-19 test is safe to use.
The Food and Drug Administration maintains a list of authorized over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic tests that indicate if the expiration date printed on their packaging is valid or if it has been extended.
The FDA has extended the expiration dates of several different test brands, lengthening their shelf lives to up to two years. The extensions come in response to manufacturers testing their kits for accuracy beyond their printed expiration dates and sharing the results with the FDA.
Abbott's widely used BinaxNow COVID-19 test kits now have a shelf life of up to 22 months, depending on when the tests were manufactured. In January of 2023, the pharmaceutical firm told customers that kits they'd previously purchased "may now have a longer than labeled product expiry date." To see if a BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test kit in your possession has a new expiration date, you can search for its lot number in the attached list here.
"All BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test kits currently have a twenty-two-month expiry date," the company said. Abbott added that expiration dates could be extended again in the future, pending new data on their viability.
Users of other tests, like Ellume's COVID-19 Home Test, should refer to the expiration date printed on the tests' packaging. If a test truly has expired, the results it delivers cannot be trusted, according to the FDA.
"COVID-19 tests and the parts they are made of may degrade, or break down, over time. Because of this, expired test kits could give inaccurate or invalid test results," the FDA said in a statement on its website.
- Cerullo
- 3 min
Jan 10, 2023 · Some free Covid tests from government set to expire shortly. EXCLUSIVE. Coronavirus. Some newly mailed Covid tests from the government expire imminently — even with extensions. The FDA...
- Aria Bendix
Aug 31, 2022 · 4 min read. The U.S. government has provided free COVID-19 test kits on multiple occasions, which means a small stockpile may be forming in your medicine cabinet. But these rapid antigen tests don’t last forever and results from an expired home-test kit may be unreliable, says Omai Garner, PhD, director of clinical microbiology for UCLA Health.
Nov 21, 2023 · Order your test kits through COVID.gov. Orders will ship free starting the week of November 27, 2023. The kits will include instructions on how to verify extended expiration dates. Many kits have had their expiration dates extended beyond what may be printed on the packaging.
Oct 18, 2023 · THE ANSWER. Yes, the government confirms that all of the recent COVID-19 tests it mailed out are still valid through at least the end of 2023. Some test boxes may have a printed expiration date...
Sep 20, 2023 · Four free tests were available for each household to request through the government's COVIDTests.gov portal starting on Monday, Sept. 25, according to a release. Americans with trouble...
