Mary Alice Reporting – At-home testing kits for COVID-19 are available in a variety of locations and one package has been given an extended expiration date.
Free tests remain available for the community and one of the kits handed out over the past two months is listed as expiring on December 9, 2022 but that has changed.
Tuscarawas County Health Department Promotions Director Jennifer Demuth says this specific COVID kit now expires March 10, 2023.
“This particular kit is in a white box with some blue marking on it and there’s four tests in each kit, and it is distributed by Roche, which is a pharmaceutical company.”
The kits have been distributed at TCHD’s location but also at partner agencies, such as Mineral City library, Tuscarawas Senior Center, the Uhrichsville City building, Village of Tuscarawas and Newcomerstown municipal buildings, and also through local food pantry’s.
No matter what type of COVID test someone might use, Demuth explains it’s important to know the expiration date.
“If the kit is past its expiration date, it may not deliver as accurate of a result and before throwing a kit out, of any brand, due check the FDA website. They have a place where you can look to see if the expiration date on your kit has been extended.”
Households in need of new kits can always visit the Health Department or one of the partnership locations. Overall, with viruses ramping up in the winter time, the health department urges all to continue to wash hands properly, wipe down surfaces with disinfectant, and to stay home, if possible, when ill.
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