At-home COVID testing kit expiration dates are being extended for more than a dozen brands

Starting Thursday, for a limited time, every U.S. household can again order up to four free rapid test kits in the mail, part of the White House’s effort to combat a potential spike in cases this winter. Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s daily tracker. Public health experts are also concerned about cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and hospitalizations for the flu are at their highest in more than a decade.

“We don’t want this winter to look like last winter or the winter before it,” Ashish Jha, Covid-19 response coordinator, said at a news conference on Thursday. The program will provide “another easy way to access testing when there is a greater need, as there is currently.”

The administration is urging people to take tests before and after traveling during the holiday season or after visiting indoors with immunocompromised or vulnerable people if they have symptoms. The tests will begin shipping December 19, according to the White House. But how long are they good?

The Food and Drug Administration has extended the shelf life of 14 test brands. Consumers can look up their specific brand and even lot number to see the correct expiration dates. Brands such as iHealth from a subsidiary of Andon Health in China, BinaxNow from Abbott Laboratories and Flowfex from ACON Labs Inc. now last up to 12 months, 15 months and 21 months respectively.

The FDA advises against using Covid tests at home past their expiration date because tests and their parts can fail over time. The agency typically authorizes at-home testing for four to six months and extends the expiration date after the company conducts a study. However, some state health officials have said tests can be used at home after their expiration dates. Test kits include information about built-in quality controls, such as the pink-purple line in Abbott’s BinaxNow test.

For people who have tested positive at home, there is now a website where results can be reported anonymously. CareEvolution, a health technology company, and the National Institutes of Health launched a website called Make My Test Count on November 22nd.

In the meantime, experts recommend taking preventive measures to reduce the risk of the disease. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Health is again recommending masking in indoor public spaces and crowded outdoor areas. Los Angeles and Oregon have done the same.

The government has asked Congress for more funding for its Covid response, but so far that request has not been granted. The US is providing the tests with stock it has left over after the program was suspended this summer and with leftover money from America’s bailout plan.