Checks carried out via The Straits Times on Dec. 6 revealed that a number of pharmacies and outlets had run out of ART kits and that shelves remained empty the next day.
On Dec. 11, the Ministry of Health said stores and pharmacies had had enough and had placed new orders to meet the surge in demand.
The Straits Times spoke to experts about whether other people can continue to use ART kits and masks safely even if they have expired, and whether the kits will still be effective at testing for newer variants of Covid-19.
A: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which approves ART kits, has stated that the shelf life of those kits is between 4 and six months from the date of manufacture.
However, the shelf life may be longer than the expiration date indicated on the packaging if the manufacturer believes the effects of the check are more stable. In this case, brands can petition the FDA to increase the shelf life of the check kits.
To check if the expiry date of an ART kit has been extended, go to this website.
Unlike ART kits, the shelf life of masks and the likelihood of extending their expiration date are unclear, said Professor Paul Tambyah, an infectious disease expert at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of China. Singapore (NUS).
He said: “Unfortunately, there are so many mask manufacturers that there is no equivalent of the FDA website listing on extended expiry dates for masks.”
Prof Tambyah said people can refer to the expiry dates found on the mask packaging as well as the instructions on how best to store them.
A: No, expired ARV kits would possibly give the wrong results, while expired masks offer less coverage than Covid-19, fitness experts said.
Prof Tambyah said the degradation of chemicals contained in solutions can lead to misleading effects, such as false positives and false negatives.
ART verifies the result by identifying the viral antigen: the nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes Covid-19. The antigens bind to the antibodies, causing a line to form on a test strip.
If the antibodies have degraded, the test kit may not be able to detect the viral proteins, or may indicate a false positive even if the protein is not there, added Prof Tambyah.
As for expired masks, the fabric is likely to degrade over time, forming micro tears invisible to the eye, said Associate Professor Richard Sugrue, who specialises in molecular and cellular virology at the Nanyang Technological University School of Biological Sciences.
He said: “If with Covid-19 you spit droplets of saliva towards you, the droplets will land on the surface of your mask and you are unlikely to inhale them.
“But if there are tears on the mask, the droplets can get in and infect you. “
A: Health experts have said that it’s more productive to avoid expired ARV kits, as it’s tricky to wait for final test results.
Prof Tambyah said: “Bear in mind that most of the testing has been done in conditions where the room temperature is about 18 deg C to 22 deg C in temperate countries, not in hot and humid Singapore.”
However, Prof Sugrue said a test kit narrowly past its expiry date could still be able to provide accurate results.
He said: “A test kit past its expiry by one day to two weeks should be okay, but a kit past its expiry by six months to a year would be more of an issue.”
A negative test result using an expired kit should be viewed with caution, and symptoms will need to be monitored carefully as a precaution, he added.
A: Yes, maximum ART kits can stumble upon new variants of Covid-19, Professor Tambyah said.
He added that the maximal ART kits do not target the spike protein, where the maximal viral mutations occurred. Instead, they target the N protein, which has remained constant throughout the pandemic.
Data published on the MOH website showed that up to Dec 8, cases infected by JN.1, a sublineage of BA.2.86, accounted for more than 60 per cent of Covid-19 cases in Singapore.
Other major variants that are spreading globally come with the Omicron subvariants XBB. 1. 5 and EG. 5 (Eris).
Prof Tambyah said: “There is no evidence that control kits are devoid of more Covid-19 cases than a few years ago, when they were first introduced. “
A: Professor Tambyah said other people can donate kits to charity clinics that are expiring soon.
According to Seeram Ramakrishna, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at NUS’s College of Design and Engineering, the plastics, paper and cardboard in an ART kit can be recycled.
Unused kits can also be recycled once the chemicals have been removed and the fabrics have been washed, he added.
Expired masks can also be used to make lifestyle accessories like hair ties, kitchen and gardening aids, and miniature furniture for pets.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free NPT app. Download now from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store