Is my at-home COVID test expired? FDA says probably not, extends expiration dates

girls, how you doing? You. People who have had moderate or severe severe illness should isolate for at least 10 days. And in particular, people who had serious illness, severe illness or who have impunity compromising conditions to talk to their health care provider about how to decide when to end isolation. We want to ensure that when people are using an antigen test, that we're relying on the most accurate information and avoiding potentially really making decisions based on false negative results. And so um the based on the FDA recommendations um Waiting 48 hours between tests mitigates some of the and using to test mitigate some of those performance issues are recommendations for isolation are that if um if anyone is tests positive or is diagnosed with COVID-19, they should isolate for at least five days. That's *** minimum of five days, five days. Um on day six or later when they are fever free for 24 hours. Um and there are other symptoms have improved. Um they can end isolation and wear *** mask indoors at home and in public. Now, people can also choose to use testing to determine when to stop wearing *** mask.

If you've been storing your rapid antigen COVID-19 tests, better known as at-home tests, for months and suddenly realized they're expired, you may not need to throw them away. They could still be usable. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which authorizes these tests, has extended the expiration date for about 10 brands of at-home tests. How to check if my at-home COVID-19 test is actually expired?The FDA has a website where it lists all of the authorized at-home test kits. To check if the test you have is still usable, you'll need the lot number on the box. How long do at-home COVID tests last?That depends on what brand of at-home COVID-19 test you have.Some tests like Binax through Abbott Diagnostics have a shelf life of about 15 months. In comparison, iHealth tests have a shelf life of 12 months, which the FDA extended. Then there are some like Lucira Health, which only has a six-month shelf life. How does the FDA decide expiration dates and when to extend them?In an interview with CNN, Dr. William Schaffner, professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said it's based on stability testing."Since it takes time for test manufacturers to perform stability testing, the FDA typically authorizes at-home COVID-19 tests with an expiration date of about four to six months from the day the test was manufactured, based on initial study results," he said. "Once the test manufacturer has more stability testing results, such as 12 or 18 months, the test manufacturer can contact the FDA to request that the FDA authorize a longer expiration date. When a longer expiration date is authorized, the test manufacturer may send a notice to customers to provide the new authorized expiration date, so the customers know how long they can use the tests they already have." My COVID-19 test expired last week, can I still use it?The short answer is yes. "As long as you haven't abused the test in some way, put it in a deep freeze or left it out in the sun or something like that. Sure. We can rely on the results of the test," Schaffner said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which authorizes these tests, has extended the expiration date for about 10 brands of at-home tests.

How to check if my at-home COVID-19 test is actually expired?

The FDA has a website where it lists all of the authorized at-home test kits. To check if the test you have is still usable, you'll need the lot number on the box.

How long do at-home COVID tests last?

That depends on what brand of at-home COVID-19 test you have.

Some tests like Binax through Abbott Diagnostics have a shelf life of about 15 months. In comparison, iHealth tests have a shelf life of 12 months, which the FDA extended. Then there are some like Lucira Health, which only has a six-month shelf life.

How does the FDA decide expiration dates and when to extend them?

In an interview with CNN, Dr. William Schaffner, professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said it's based on stability testing.

"Since it takes time for test manufacturers to perform stability testing, the FDA typically authorizes at-home COVID-19 tests with an expiration date of about four to six months from the day the test was manufactured, based on initial study results," he said. "Once the test manufacturer has more stability testing results, such as 12 or 18 months, the test manufacturer can contact the FDA to request that the FDA authorize a longer expiration date. When a longer expiration date is authorized, the test manufacturer may send a notice to customers to provide the new authorized expiration date, so the customers know how long they can use the tests they already have."

My COVID-19 test expired last week, can I still use it?

The short answer is yes.

"As long as you haven't abused the test in some way, put it in a deep freeze or left it out in the sun or something like that. Sure. We can rely on the results of the test," Schaffner said.

Is my at-home COVID test expired? FDA says probably not, extends expiration dates

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How does the FDA decide expiration dates and when to extend them?

My COVID-19 test expired last week, can I still use it?

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