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After aExplosion of coated infections During the overvoltage of winter omicron, we appreciated the relative calm of the downward trend of the virus in recent weeks. But the propagation of the subvariant Omicron Ba. 2 again gave way to the increase in numbers. According to centers for disease control and prevention (CDC), coronavirus cases have increasedOver 35% Last week, clearly indicate that a new peak in infections arrived. With the United States that undresses most of the cocovated mitigation policies, many have wondered how to protect themselves. Virus experts now have a new recommendation that can help everyone, whether vaccinated or not. Read the rest to discover the measures you should take.

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As cases increase again, virus experts once again highlight the importance of testing you for Cavid at home. "If you are going to be in the vulnerable population who cannot be protected from the disease - and, unfortunately, we have a lot of people who fall into this category - you should do everything in your power to try to ensure youYou don't have the virus, "Omai Garner, PHD, director of clinical microbiology in the UCLA health system, told NPR.AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

A recent study by Michigan evaluating the impact of tests at home hairstyle revealed that they are extremely important throughout the peaks. According to this study, infection rates during one of the recent variants increasewas significantly lower In the cities that have received free state tests from the state than those who had not done so.

"It is clear that rapid antigen tests at home are useful, and they have enormous value in terms of the way people decide to live their life in the pandemic, but also provide invaluable information to experts at a level of health of the population ","APURV SONI, MD, assistant professor of medicine and principal study of the study, said in a statement, adding that people should "know them when cases increase, and not use them when COVVI-19 cases are low".

It is likely that many of us still have co -vored tests stored at home, that you are too stored during the overvoltage of winter omicron or that you have not used all those provided by the American postal service (USPS) . If this is the case, you can and should use them to start testing yourself in the middle of the rising infections, even if they say they expire.

William Schaffner, MD, expert in virus and professor at the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, recently told CNN that home tests are coatedMade to last longer that one might expect. "We now have tests that have proven good for a year and I think that some probably even longer. In other words, they are very, very stable tests," he said.

The expiration dates are there for a reason, but you have room for maneuver. "Now, if I have a test that expired last week, will it still be correct this week if I use it? And the short answer is yes," said Schaffner. "As long as you have not abused the test in one way or another, put it in a deep gel or left it in the sun or something like that. Of course. We can count on the results test. "

Other experts even have tests expired in green longer than that. "I expect most of them, if not all, will finally have an expiration date of at least two years. If the control line is displayed and that it is within 18 to 24 months depending on the date of manufacture,You should assume The test works, "Michael Mina, PhD, expert in home test technology and science director for Emed, saidThe New York Times.

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All cowled tests must be marked with a manufacturing date and an expiration date, according toThe New York Times. On its website, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) says it "does not recommend"Use covid tests at home beyond their authorized expiration dates." The COVVI-19 tests and the parts they are done can deteriorate or decompose over time. For this reason, expired test kits could give inaccurate test results, "warns the FDA.

But according to Schaffner, the agency has extended its expiration dates authorized on certain tests over time. "Since it takes time to test manufacturers to carry out stability tests, the FDA generally authorizes COVVI-19 tests at home with an expiration date of approximately four to six months after the day the test was Made, based on the initial results of the study ", he explained. "Once the test manufacturer has more stability test results, such as 12 or 18 months, the test manufacturer can contact the FDA to request that the FDA authorize a longer expiration date."

If this happens, the FDA says that you may receive an alert from the manufacturer of your test, although this is not always the case. "When a longer expiration date is authorized, the test manufacturer can send customers to provide the new authorized expiration date, so that customers know how long they can use the tests they have Already, "added Schaffner.

Due to continuous tests, expiration dates on certain home tests may not be exact for the duration of their duration, Schaffner told CNN. "You could therefore have passed a test of the same manufacturer and a shorter and longer expiration date, depending on the moment when the real test was carried out and delivered to the store or sent by the federal government," he declared.

According toThe New York Times, this could be the case for binaxnow test owners. The FDA extended the shelf life of this 12 -month to 15 month test in January 2022, which means that many consumers should add three additional months to the expiration date indicated in their box. An FDA spokesperson told the newspaper that anyone with a question about the expiration of their specific test should examine the agency's website for any authorization document indicating prolonged retention period.

"Many people now have a small inventory of home tests", "Mara Aspinall, a biomedical diagnostic expert at Arizona State University, saidThe New York Times. "It would be a shame for someone to have symptoms, but he does not use a test because it's up to date. If a test is up to date, it is very likely that it is always effective. If it's up to date, it is very important to check the website to see if the date has been extended. "

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