Originally published at: Get free COVID tests from the USPS again | Boing Boing
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The government warns us some tests may have expired expiration dates, however, do not worry as those printed dates have been extended.
Soooo, either the manufacturers or the government have been sitting on significant stocks of tests that were allowed to expire rather than distributing them? And was this because (we were pretending that the) pandemic was over, so not worth the expense? And they waited to do this until infections were already spiking, rather than encouraging testing and mitigation measures BEFORE the spike?
The continued mismanagement and minimization of COVID is so damned irresponsible.
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Rant Alert!
Screwed by the post office AGAIN!
I moved in June to a townhouse that was apparently combined with another townhouse, then split again and both flipped. When I went to forward my mail, the USPS said I had an invalid address. I tried FIVE TIMES to straighten it out - I filled out their forms, I called their phone numbers, etc., etc.
SO, I went to the link to get the free test kits and, lo and behold, my address is STILL invalid! The letter carrier drops mail in my mailbox every darn day, but my address is invalid.
It’s been Kafkaesque with the post office!
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Canada (May be BC program?) has them distributed for free from pharmacies. Seems like a more logical place to get them, though the postal service might be better for lower population density areas.
From COVID.gov - Free at-home COVID-19 tests
I believe the expiration information is a separate thought from the the one about getting new tests. It’s a sperate sentence at least.
The goal being to stop people from throwing out tests they already have at home, but that have a sticker on them that says they have expired. Depending on the specific test, the label may be right, or they may have extended the expiration by up to 6 months longer than the label says. This was based on additional research and monitoring to understand the longer duration was still effective. It’s different for different tests. Probably a bunch to do with how a specific test works, it’s ingredients, and packaging. You can check the site by brand and lot number for the updated expiration date.
I know we had some that we thought were expired (but were going to use anyway) and found out, they actually hadn’t expired. Bonus.
I ordered more, I’m expecting they’ll show up with future expiration not past dates.
I think last time we received some, they’d already been pasted over with the new-and-improved expiration date. And… (checks website) yeah, they’ll still expire then.
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