The FDA has extended expiration dates for many rapid at-home COVID-19 tests, meaning some test kits that have been stored away from earlier in the pandemic may still provide accurate results.
An FDA web page includes a list of at-home test manufacturers, indicating which tests have had their expiration date extended. "An extended expiration date means the manufacturer provided data showing the shelf life is longer than was known when the test was first authorized," the site says. If a test does not say it has an extended expiration date, the original date on the box label still applies.
The agency advises against using tests beyond their expiration dates because of the risk of inaccurate results. In terms of newer variants, experts say existing at-home tests are able to detect them.
"With EG.5, it's very clear that at-home tests as well as many of the either tests that are done at medical institutions, hospitals and other places all recognize that and other currently circulating variants right now," Andrew Pekosz, PhD, professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told CNBC.