Alberta has about 40 million immediate antigen tests for COVID-19 in its stockpile and all are expected to expire within a few months. Those that are used will be discarded, the provincial government confirmed.
According to the province, of the 6. 7 million kits stored in a central warehouse, 760,000 expire on Jan. 1 and the rest will expire until March.
Each kit contains between five and 25 tests for a total of 39,621,105 individual tests.
“From what I understand, those test kits are from the original batch that was purchased a few years ago and we’re still in the process of reviewing them,” said Randy Howden, president of the Alberta Pharmacists Association.
“At some point, those kits probably will need to be disposed of. I can’t imagine them working too far past their expiry dates. But, of course, we do need more information on that.”
According to Alberta Health, the free test kits, supplied by the federal government, will be discarded once they expire, following guidelines for the disposal of medical waste.
The stockpile of rapid antigen tests, which are stored and distributed from a centralized Alberta Health Services’ warehouse, are still available to pharmacies, continuing care homes and primary care providers.
While the province provided additional details about the disposal of the test kits, it said pharmacies have been reminded that inventory is available.
“That’s a lot of evidence-filled landfills,” said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta.
She would like to see more research done to determine if the tests can be used beyond their expiration date. Saxinger said older tests might be less sensitive. The biggest fear would be false negatives rather than false positives, he noted.
“Unless more data is provided on whether the tests are running, for example, if they are revalidated after the due date, I can understand why they may no longer need to distribute them,” he said.
BTNX Inc. , one of the leading manufacturers, stated that quick-reaction boxes with a reference code indexed on the box as COV-19C25 have a popular shelf life of 24 months (from the date of manufacture) and should not be used beyond the stated expiration. date. on the box.
These kits make up a proportion of Alberta’s reserves.
The company has been allowed to increase the expiry dates of other batches, which have a reference code indexed in the box as COV-19CSHC5.
The province verified at the time of publication whether any of them were circulating in Alberta. Extended expiration dates run from March 2024 to June 2024.
In the meantime, Health Canada is proposing the use of expired immediate antigen tests.
He says companies conduct “extensive research,” as well as collecting data on how parts behave over time and in changing situations such as extreme temperatures.
“The allowable shelf life is the time the company has provided clinical evidence to conclude that the product will continue to perform as intended,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“The effects of an expired check may not be accurate. It is recommended that other persons use current checks and conscientiously comply with the orders provided. “
At Wellness Pharmacy in northwest Calgary, pharmacist Muhammad Ashraf said he has about 100 kits left in stock, all of which will expire in January.
“I think when they expire, I’ll run out. “
He orders them when he runs out of inventory, as consumers are no longer stockpiling tests as they once did during the pandemic.
Instead, he said, they pick up the kits as needed.
“They need to be examined immediately. . . People who come in have a symptom and feel they want to be tested and they need to test their family as well. “
Meanwhile, some Albertans see lower levels of buffer fluid in their kits.
“That would be the weak point of the test,” Saxinger said.
She noted that while it’s not ideal, if other people do an immediate test and find they don’t have enough buffer fluid, they can add a drop or two from the vial to their kit.
“If it’s negative, I probably wouldn’t necessarily accept it as true for him. If it’s positive, I would definitely accept it as true for him,” Saxinger said.
“I think other people deserve to choose the tests that are available and prepare them for use, just recognizing that if they use them beyond the expiration date, they may want to get follow-up tests if they’re negative. “
Saxinger worries that many other people have stopped getting tested when they have symptoms. That’s important, he said, especially now that respiratory virus season is accelerating.
“I think other people have lost the sense that you still need to verify and that better decisions can be made,” he said.
“You have to be more careful when spreading this, because there are still other people who are in very poor health because of it. There are still other people who are admitted to the hospital, to the intensive care unit and who die because of it. “
Journalist
Jennifer Lee is a CBC News reporter based in Calgary. She worked at CBC Toronto, Saskatoon and Regina before landing in Calgary in 2002. If you have a health or human interest story to share, let her know. [email protected]
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