So I ordered the new round of free tests. They came today. The EXTENDED expiration date is in 3 mos! They are sending out old tests (the original expiry date was in June). I guess you get what you pay for.
We got the same thing. Birnax - which I like but the expiration listed as 6-23
Ours had printed expiration dates of 7/24/2023 which is extended to 2/24/2024.
Not just these. I went to buy one yesterday at CVS and the instructions said to read the foil package for expiration date. It expired 4/23, but the outside box said 2024. They weren’t allowed to refund me, which is crap. I bought a binax one and the date was fine.
I tested positive on both. My first time. Feels like I have a minor flu, very fatigued and tired of coughing.
I haven’t received mine yet. But when I ordered, there was a link there for checking the extended expiration dates. IIRC, @BunsenBurner explained why these dates were extended.
The extended date for the ones I received is January 23, 2024. The original
Date was June 23, 2023
The ones we got in the mail were binax
Well…at the rate of COVID around here, the two people in this household will likely use four tests before January
I’m wondering if these will be offered monthly for a while…
Just checked mine. Original exp date was jan 2023! Ridiculous.
I think it’s genius to not let these go to waste. Happy to have them.
Ours (with the june 23 original exp. date) was postmarked from Topeka, KS. Where are yours from?
We had Covid in our house at the end of the summer. We used expired tests…they still work if you’re positive.
As the companies making the tests acquire more data on test performance after storage, those expiration dates get extended. I wouldn’t be surprised that the expiration date would be extended again. Keep checking the FDA website for updates.
Per the FDA:
The new boxes come with a flier with a QR code to check for updated expiry dates.
Genuine question: how important is the expiration date? Surely it’s still going to read accurately. We’ve used expired ones at home which seem very accurate. Many many medicines and medical products have an expiry date but are still perfectly good to use. Is this not the case with Covid tests?
I guess I’d rather have the tests than not have the tests, expired or otherwise. It seems a shame to throw them out if they still function normally.
Expiration dates on COVID-19 tests seem to be conservative estimates. However, since the tests include a C (control) line as well as a T (test) line, the presence or absence of a C line is supposed to tell whether the test is still good.
We have a friend who works for one of the test manufacturers. He said if the control line becomes visible, the test should still be accurate. (Basically exactly what ucbalumnus just said ; )).
I third that.
When husband had COVID we used expired tests that were past the updated date also. They seemed to work fine.