While many respiratory viruses — including COVID-19, RSV and influenza — circulate year-round in California, they are typically more active between October and March, according to the California Department of Public Health.
You might be wondering whether your cold-like symptoms might be coronavirus, and whether you can use the old at-home test in your medicine cabinet.
Can you use an at-home COVID-19 test past its expiration date — and can it be extended?
Here’s what you need to know:
- Do at-home COVID-19 tests really expire?
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, all at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests come with an expiration date printed on the box or packaging.
Such self-administered tests shouldn’t typically be used past this date, the FDA said in a September FAQ about at-home tests.
However, these expiration dates can be extended as additional stability data becomes available.
“COVID-19 test manufacturers perform studies to show how long after manufacturing COVID-19 tests perform as accurately as the day the test was manufactured,” the FDA said.
The shelf life of a test refers to the period during which it should perform as expected, starting from the date of manufacture.
The expiration date marks the end of this period, indicating the latest date by which the test is expected to provide accurate results.
- Can expiration dates be extended for coronavirus tests?
Stability testing determines how long a test maintains its expected performance.
The manufacturer stores the test for the proposed shelf-life, plus some additional time to ensure reliability, and then reassesses its accuracy, according to the FDA.
For example, if the intended shelf-life for an at-home test is 12 months, the manufacturer tests its accuracy after storing it for 13 months to confirm it still performs as expected.
“Since it takes time for test manufacturers to perform stability testing, the FDA typically authorizes at-home COVID-19 tests with a shelf-life of about four to six months from the day the test was manufactured, based on initial study results, and it may be extended later as additional data is collected,” the FDA said.
Once the test manufacturer obtains additional stability testing results for time periods such as 12 or 18 months, they can request FDA authorization for an extended shelf-life.
If approved, expiration dates will be updated and the manufacturer can notify customers of the new dates so they know how long they can continue using their tests.
However, the FDA said, if you didn’t buy your test directly from the manufacturer, you might not receive such a notice.
- How can I tell if my at-home COVID test is still good?
To see if the expiration date of your at-home OTC COVID-19 test has been extended, check the “Expiration Date” column of the list of authorized at-Home OTC COVID-19 diagnostic tests, the FDA said.
- How can I get free at-home COVID tests?
Households can order up to four COVID-19 tests, according to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
The U.S. Postal Service will deliver the coronavirus testing supplies directly to people’s homes at no cost.
