Now that allergy season is right here, many are discovering themselves with signs asking: Is it allergic reactions or a chilly? COVID? Something else? Since allergic reactions, colds and COVID can have signs that overlap, it may be troublesome to determine what you may have. That’s when an at-home COVID take a look at can turn out to be useful. Even if yours says it is expired, many checks have had their shelf lives prolonged previous the expiration date.
To decide whether or not your COVID take a look at remains to be usable, you possibly can examine the at-home COVID-19 checks listed on the FDA’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 final day the take a look at is anticipated to carry out successfully. Generally, the FDA authorizes at-home take a look at kits with a shelf lifetime of about 4 to 6 months, however that shelf life may very well be prolonged if the producer finds extra information that reveals the checks are nonetheless correct previous the expiration date.
Can I exploit a COVID take a look at equipment after it expires?
Unless the FDA has prolonged the shelf lifetime of your field of COVID-19 checks, it is not really helpful you employ them after they’ve expired. Here’s why: The COVID-19 take a look at components may degrade or break down over time, resulting in inaccurate or invalid take a look at outcomes.
See beneath to search out out in case your field of COVID-19 checks remains to be OK to make use of, because it’s attainable 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 will possibly request that the FDA authorize an prolonged expiration date. Once that occurs, the producer could notify prospects of the brand new expiration dates. However, in case you did not purchase the checks through the producer, you seemingly will not obtain any notifications.
For the most recent data on the expiration dates to your COVID-19 take a look at kits, you should definitely examine the FDA’s At-Home OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests webpage.
On that web page, the FDA web page lists COVID-19 checks alphabetically, or you should use a search field to search out your take a look at instantly. In 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 supplied with data on the 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.
If you do not see something on the FDA web page, you may as well examine the producer to see in the event that they’ve posted a letter from the FDA that their checks have been prolonged.
How to search out lot quantity on COVID take a look at
You can discover the lot quantity to your at-home COVID take a look at on its field, normally on a sticker with its expiration date. It could also be a mix of each numbers and letters. According to the FDA, “If your lot quantity and/or unique expiration date don’t seem, or if the Expiration Date column states ‘Expiration Date: See field label,’ don’t use the take a look at past the unique expiration date in your take a look at.”
