Double check before you throw your Covid-19 tests away and replace for traveling

[LuvOrlando]

I was looking for info on ordering new Covid-19 tests ahead of family travel next week since I have 4 boxes ready to expire when I found this and thought I'd share, easy enough to double check before throwing tests away and wasting money. Mine were all the free kind that got mailed and are all extended quite a bit based on this, close call, glad I looked.

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices...vices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests#list

 

[starry_solo]

The ones we got for free, the expiration date on the box said July 2022.
but when you open the kit, the chemical tube had a different date on it, January 2023…

 

[Minniedap]

Thank you for the update. Today we were discussing ordering new ones then I checked the website you provided and found ours do not expire for another 6 months.

 

[LuvOrlando]

The ones we got for free, the expiration date on the box said July 2022.
but when you open the kit, the chemical tube had a different date on it, January 2023…

I had noticed this discrepancy on the very first round of tests I bought way back but when I called to inquire I was told to follow the date with the little hourglass on the package regardless of the contents so that's what I was doing until now that there is this new source of information.

Guess things became more certain over time or maybe the ages/quality of the items in the packets are more reliable now. Regardless of the reason, I'm glad all the tests we accumulated are useful because it's easier to spend for tests knowing the shelf life will hold a few seasons.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Thank you for the update. Today we were discussing ordering new ones then I checked the website you provided and found ours do not expire for another 6 months.

I ordered more before finding this new info, still it's ok because now I'll have enough for the 4 of us for quite a while.

 

[disneychrista]

Thanks for the heads up. I have 8 tests that are all supposed to expire this month. I opened one and the test tube says January 2024. The testing strip say see outer packaging. So who knows. I planned on using them anyway. If they came back negative and I was really concerned I would go to the testing center. If it came back positive, I'd assume it was positive or go to the testing center.

 

[leebee]

I got a whole bunch of free tests when a local school closed for the summer. Test say that they expire 12/22 and they aren't on the list in the link above. I'll use them anyhow. I have little confidence in home testing as several of the omicron variants don't necessarily react with the test kit materials. Happened to me this spring. DH tested positive for covid when at a doctor visit for something else. He wasn't too ill and they gave him an antiviral and he was on his feet in a couple of days. I was sick as a dog, sicker than when I had Covid in December, but kept testing negative so kept going to work (department chair said I HAD to work, even though it was clearly against University covid policy). About a month later I was walk-in care for something else. Doc noticed I was congested so swiped me "just in case" (I felt fine) and sent it out for PCR and sure enough, it was positive. She said I most likely had Covid when DH did, but the antigen tests don't always pick up some of the more recent variants. I feel badly for anyone who was around me when I was sick (yes, I masked and distanced) but it was nice to have 5 "mandated" days off when I wasn't really ill!

 

[disneychrista]

. I have little confidence in home testing

For me a positive is a positive. A negative with symptoms means you need a PCR.