Anyone who bought self-tests in advance during the corona pandemic may now have some left over. You can find out here whether and under what conditions you can still use the corona tests.
With the approaching end of summer, pathogens of respiratory diseases get an easier time again. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the number of corona proofs confirmed in the laboratory has been increasing for about six weeks. In the past week there were almost 4,000 cases nationwide. The level is therefore very low, but experts assume that the number of unreported cases is high, because testing is often no longer carried out and not all cases are reported. The Federal Ministry of Health is appealing to test yourself for corona if you have cold symptoms.
The Bremen epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb also called for self-tests in suspected cases. “Anyone who has cold symptoms should test themselves again now in order to detect a corona infection and if possible not to infect anyone,” said the expert from the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology to the editorial network Germany. One has to assume that many people are currently infected with Corona and believe they only have a cold, said Zeeb. “The number of unreported cases is very high, we simply do not know the exact number of cases.”
Important to know: “The tests continue to work reliably, even with the new variant,” says Zeeb. According to Leif Sander from the Charité in Berlin, there is still no evidence that conventional virus diagnostics are affected by the new corona variants.
Corona test expired: can it still be used?
Anyone who still has self-tests at home from last year is wondering: how long do the quick tests actually last? And can I still use an expired test?
On the Corona quick tests you will usually find two pieces of information about their shelf life: Firstly, the date of manufacture and secondly, the expiry date (recognizable by the hourglass symbol). As a rule, there is a period of twelve months between the date of manufacture and the expiry date. This means that the tests can be kept for one year from the date of manufacture.
Of course, rapid tests are no longer reliable after the expiration date and are therefore unusable. But: the longer the tests have been lying dormant in the closet, the greater the risk that they will no longer work properly and the tests will show incorrect results.
Storage temperature is critical to shelf life
The Bremen virologist Professor Andreas Dotzauer told the Nordsee-Zeitung that the rapid tests can still be used for a few weeks after the expiry date – under certain conditions. The decisive factor is the temperature at which the tests were stored: the warmer, the worse for durability. “If they were kept at room temperature, then I would use them two to three months past the expiration date,” says Dotzauer. “But no longer.”
Information on how the tests should be stored can be found on the test packaging: As a rule, they tolerate temperatures between five and 30 degrees. The small symbol showing long rays of sunshine over a house warns that the tests should not be in direct sunlight. If stored incorrectly, it can happen that they no longer provide reliable results.
Safer: use the new corona test
Even if a corona test that has just expired does not have to be thrown away immediately, it still makes sense to buy a new test if you have cold symptoms. You should not take any risks, especially if you are in contact with older and immunocompromised people.
Good to know: Doctors could still arrange for a PCR test at health insurance costs in the treatment of patients with typical corona symptoms.
What has happened with the Corona variants
Two new derivatives of Omikron in particular are currently in focus: The World Health Organization (WHO) initially upgraded EG.5, also known as Eris, to one of three “virus variants of interest”. According to the WHO, because of growth advantage and immune escape properties, EG.5 could cause more cases again and become dominant in some countries or even worldwide.
The new variant BA.2.86 is significantly more mutated. The WHO has just classified it as one of currently seven “variants under monitoring”. BA.2.86 shows almost 30 changes in the spike protein compared to the closest relatives, says the specialist for corona variants Richard Neher (Basel). So far only a few sequences are available, but from different countries. This indicates that it is already widespread. According to the RKI, BA.2.86 has not yet been detected in Germany.
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