By Samantha Wilson
How in the world does a school district distribute COVID tests to students and not check the expiration date. Prior to winter break, Irvington High School gave two at home rapid tests to each of their students for their personal use; however, – unlike other times – these tests expired in September 2022. According to the FDA – an organization that works to ensure the safety of products that are released to the public “the FDA does not recommend using at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests beyond their authorized expiration dates. COVID-19 tests and the parts they are made of may degrade, or break down, over time. Because of this, expired test kits could give inaccurate or invalid test results” (FDA).
That said, I did some digging and I found that the shelf life of several COVID tests have been extended. In fact, an article by CNET on December 24, 2022 explains that the 27 at-home COVID-19 tests listed on the FDA website, 15 have had their shelf lives extended, including tests by the CareStart COVID-19 Antigen tests distributed by IHS. Just to be certain the tests Irvington students received have not yet expired, of course I tried to match up the expiration date on the back of the box with that on the FDA website listing the extension dates for CareStart test. Again, at first I was concerned as the expiration date did not match but I was relieved to find that the lot number on the FDA list of extended tests did match. Again, I felt a sense of relief.
But of course, my digging was not done yet because I started wondering what other students and families would do. I assume that many needing a test urgently may not look at the expiration. Most would assume that a test distributed in December 2022 wouldn’t have a September 2022 expiration date. I also assume that a portion of those who see the expiration date will do what I did, find it troubling and look it up. Still, my larger concern is for those who are going to keep this test for an emergency not knowing that the efficacy isn’t the typical 15 months you expect when you first purchase a test. According to the chart on the FDA website, the efficacy of the the test with a December 2022 expiration date has been extended to March 2023. The logical assumption will of course be that a test they were given just a few months prior is going to have a long shelf life.
Think about prom 2022 and the outbreak of COVID-19 across the Irvington community. If students unknowingly grab the test they were given just a few months earlier there could be a slew of false-negative tests. The same is true of spring break, many may chose to test before they travel unwittingly boarding a train or airplane believing they are negative. Some people may be living with an immunocompromised person and others may be visiting someone who autoimmune issues requiring a loved one or friend to test negative first.
So what should Irvington do? I’m certainly not expecting them to distribute new tests when we all have a test that should be fine. But the district should issue an alert letting everyone know that, “yes, the test they received has a September 2022 expiration date but the good news is that it is valid through March. If you are going to test after March 31, 2023 than you must purchase a new test. It’s that simple. Students and families certainly deserve this notice and additional layer of communication and protection. Let’s see when we hear further.
