In this photo illustration, Abbott’s at-home covid-19 rapid test kits are seen on display in Orlando.Paul Hennessy | LightRocket | Getty ImagesAs Covid cases surge again in the U.S., Americans are digging out unused at-home tests that they stashed earlier on in the pandemic. Many of those tests may have passed their expiration dates, but don’t throw them away just yet. The Food and Drug Administration has extended the expiration dates of many popular at-home test products, which means some of your old kits may still be safe to use. You can check by visiting a page on the FDA’s website that lists expiration information for each test brand.”That’s the first thing I would do before using an expired test or throwing it away,” Andrew Pekosz, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told CNBC.If the date has not changed, the FDA advises against using expired tests. Doing so increases the chance of an inaccurate test result, which could put your or another person’s health at risk. A false result carries more risk again as Covid gains a greater foothold nationwide, primarily driven by newer variants of the virus like the now-dominant EG.5 strain, or “Eris.” Covid hospitalizations jumped nearly 19% last week, marking the sixth straight week of increasing admissions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public health experts say testing remains a critical tool for protection as Covid metrics climb. But lab PCR tests – the traditional way of detecting Covid – have become more expensive and less accessible for some …
