At-home COVID-19 tests provide a convenient way to collect samples and detect active COVID-19 infections.
However, if you have at-home COVID-19 tests nearing expiration or already expired, what should you do?
According to Dr. Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, the test dates set by companies for these diagnostic at-home tests are arbitrary and were developed rapidly. Therefore, it is advisable to check the expiration dates on your test boxes before discarding them.
“Now that we are 3 1/2 years into the pandemic, those manufacturers have had the opportunity to go back and assess the test performance over prolonged periods of time. And they’ve updated the expiration dates in many cases,” says Dr. Binnicker.
If you have at-home tests, Dr. Binnicker’s first recommendation is to check the updated expiration dates on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.
If you take a test that is beyond the expiration date and it comes back positive, that result is likely reliable, especially if you have respiratory symptoms. However, if the test is negative and beyond the expiration date, it is advisable to make sure the test doesn’t have an extended expiration date. If it does, it is recommended to get another test or have a healthcare provider collect a swab for a lab-based test before ruling out COVID-19, explains Dr. Binnicker.
Can at-home tests detect current strains of COVID-19?
According to Dr. Binnicker, at-home tests should be able to detect the currently circulating strains of COVID-19. The spike protein, which is the part of the virus that binds to cells and undergoes the most changes with new variants, is different from the protein these antigen tests look for. Therefore, these tests should be able to pick up the circulating strains of the virus confidently.
Testing positive
If an at-home antigen test comes back positive, it means that you are still shedding a high amount of viral protein and likely a high amount of virus that could be spread to others, says Dr. Binnicker.
Therefore, if you test positive, consider yourself as being contagious and at risk of spreading the virus to others.
Testing negative
If you experience COVID-19 symptoms and your at-home test comes back negative, it is still recommended to see a healthcare provider and get a PCR-based test. This will provide the most reliable information on whether you truly have or don’t have COVID-19, suggests Dr. Binnicker.
When should you test for COVID-19?
Dr. Binnicker recommends testing in the following instances:
- If you develop symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, or body aches.
- If you’ve been in close contact with someone who has a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.
- If you plan on visiting someone at high risk of severe illness, such as a person with cancer, an older adult, or someone with a weakened immune system.
However, if you’ve been exposed to the virus, Dr. Binnicker advises waiting a few days before taking a test. This is because it takes time for the virus to reach detectable levels by antigen tests. Typically, waiting three days after exposure before testing is recommended. If the test is negative, consider taking another test the following day or 48 hours later. By day five after exposure, a negative result is likely to indicate that you are not infected with COVID-19, advises Dr. Binnicker.
Temperatures and at-home COVID-19 tests
The storage conditions for at-home antigen tests are determined by the FDA and should be provided in the information packets that come with the tests. It is important to read the fine print and check the acceptable storage conditions, especially in areas with extreme temperatures, such as subzero cold or high heat.
“If you’re in an area that has experienced subzero weather or temperatures well above 100, like many parts of the country have during the summer months, it is always a good idea to check the packet that comes with a test to look for the acceptable storage conditions,” advises Dr. Binnicker.
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