Health

Are my expired COVID test kits still usable?

By Mallika Marshall, MD

October 5, 2023 / 1:19 PM EDT / CBS Boston

COVID concerns even with negative tests? Dr. Mallika Marshall answers your questions

BOSTON - With the rise in COVID cases in the community, many people are pulling out the rapid home tests they bought months ago. But how do you know if they still work?

The first thing to do is check the expiration date on the box. If the expiration date hasn't come and gone, you're good to go. But many test kits out there are past their expiration date.

The good news is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the expiration dates for a number of different brands, lengthening their shelf lives to up to two years. That's because some manufacturers have tested their kids for accuracy beyond their original expiration dates and have shared that information with the FDA.

To check whether a test kit is still usable, click here.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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