Free At-Home Covid Tests! ( …fail )

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We have a big family get-together planned for September (Labor Day holiday, here in the US), so I figured it would be wise to order some of the government’s free At-Home Covid Test Kits in preparation. This is a free program, with shipping by the US Postal Service.

As shown in the email, one of the two boxes was delivered in late June:

As shown on the box, they expire in early August:

Oh, well.

I wonder if that’s why they were free.

(Still waiting for the second box, but I guess it really doesn’t matter if it arrives before it expires, since it will be useless for it’s intended purpose.)

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FDA grants 3-month extension on COVID tests expiration dates (spectrumnews1.com)

Note that the dates have been extended by 3 months.

 

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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DrBonzo, LHiggins, SueW, WCHS, wavy, dg1261, Mele20, mledman

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The full FDA listing of at home test kits including specific expiration dates if extended:

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

 

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mledman, DrBonzo, SueW, WCHS, wavy, dg1261

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Thanks! Those are both good links to know about.

 

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Expiry dates are always conservative. Early August will be the earliest date at which they may expire.

And you have ordered them 6 weeks too early.

cheers, Paul

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dg1261

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Well, I’m a worrier, and from past experience they don’t get shipped out too promptly, so I didn’t want to wait too long.

I suppose there’s a fine art in figuring out when to jump in — I feel like I’m bidding on eBay!

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SueW

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Paul T wrote:

And you have ordered them 6 weeks too early.

cheers, Paul

They don’t come quickly. When I ordered some I didn’t realize there was such a short expiration date. Bah! Humbug. They should be good for AT LEAST six months and preferably one year. I’m a planner and I really deplore the loss, with this current generation of adults, of that ability. No one plans anything these days except my generation and I think that is stupid and even potentially quite dangerous. It also reveals a lack of respect for others. Or more omniously, as some commentators point out, it reveals the belief that we are at the end of our democracy and further decline is the only path now.

I didn’t even look at the expiration date until I read this thread as I assumed it would be at least six months considering the iffyness of being able to get them especially when shipped to Hawaii. So, I am glad for the three month extension.

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Expiration dates take into consideration the manufacture dates, the delay built in to shipping(esp. if by USPS) the temperature extremes they are exposed to and storage conditions at final destination. Medical Lab test reagents are sensitive to these environmental conditions. FDA is a gov’t agency with little consideration for conditions after they gave their ‘approval’  The manufacturers  do usually  err on the side of caution but I wouldn’t use them past the suggested date. I have seen entire lots of  commercial Lab tests thrown out-thousands of individual tests in some cases (esp HIV tests)

Perhaps when ordering these kits think of them as dairy products..<grin>

Sorry for the mess you may be facing and I hope it all turns out well.

(I do not think the “..end of our democracy and further decline..”as expounded by tv pundits is at hand due to expiration dates on covid tests.)

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Paul T wrote:

Expiry dates are always conservative. Early August will be the earliest date at which they may expire.

And you have ordered them 6 weeks too early.

cheers, Paul

not to mention the possibility that if you wait to order them close to the time you need them, they will all be gone by that time.

the three-month extension is great! I don’t think I would have known about this, had I not read it here. Imagine that … a tech website with important health news!!

BTW, you can now order up to 3 packages of 8 tests each. For iHealth, I see that the latest expiration date on the list is 08/21/22 extended to 11/20/22. I wonder if there will be expirations dates beyond this, if you wait until later to order them.

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DriftyDonN wrote:

I have seen entire lots of  commercial Lab tests thrown out

A commercial organisation has a duty to provide an accurate test. They must control all things that may affect the test so expiring tests are jettisoned.

Private use allows you to manage these things yourself.

cheers, Paul

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