By Zee Krstic; Good Housekeeping
If you've accumulated a stockpile of rapid at-home COVID-19 tests over the course of the pandemic — including a handful of free products delivered by the government to your home — you may be surprised to learn that many of these products have a rather limited shelf life. It's why federal health officials at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced they'd extended expiration dates on a number of rapid antigen home tests that are sold at pharmacies and clinics in the U.S. Currently, nine different brands have had their rapid antigen COVID-19 tests' expiration dates expired well into 2022 (all of which are highlighted in the section below).
Depending on the brand you've purchased or received, there's a chance you may be able to use an "expired" test without risking an inaccurate result. But it's crucial to check updated FDA announcements on COVID-19 tests and their expiration dates, as medical experts say that an older expired test may contain testing materials that have degraded past peak performance — which may likely cause an inaccurate test overall.
"While we can't know the precise decrease in accuracy would be, an expired COVID-19 home test no longer qualifies as something appropriate for human testing," explains Emily Volk, M.D., FCAP, the president of the College of American Pathologists.
"The concern is that it wouldn't work as intended, and the accuracy is decreased — but we just don't know if that's by .1% or if by 20%," she adds.
Below, we're identifying the list of at-home COVID-19 rapid tests that have new, extended expiration dates that are being monitored by FDA officials — as well as answers to all of your questions about using an expired COVID-19 test.
Which COVID-19 tests have extended deadlines set by the FDA?
It's not uncommon for manufacturers to ask for updated guidance on medical tests; as many of the COVID-19 rapid tests on the market have been approved over a year ago, the FDA may be petitioned to extend their official shelf life for a number of reasons. Dr. Volk explains that the main reason FDA officials extended deadlines had to do with a myriad of supply chain issues (which affected baby formula and tampons as well) in late 2021 and 2022, mostly in the interest of preventing any potential regional shortages and unnecessary waste.
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