Throw Out These COVID-19 Tests, Philly Health Officials Say

PHILADELPHIA — Some at-home COVID-19 tests should not be used, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

The department over the weekend said residents who received what they believe to be Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Tests should check the lot numbers on those tests

If the lot number shown is COV2110012, they should throw the tests away and pick up replacement tests from any of the five Health Department Resource Hubs.

The announcement comes after a routine shelf-life extension program check of the tests.

Department staff recorded an unknown lot number on Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Tests received from a long-time distributor.

Upon investigation, it was found that this lot number was not listed on the U.S. FDA’s shelf-life extension website.

A sample test kit was sent to ACON Laboratories, the manufacturer, who confirmed that tests with that lot number were not authentic.

As soon as that confirmation was made, the department removed those tests from distribution status and is working to notify community organizations and other partners that may have received them.

In total, 105,000 test kits the department got were found to be invalid.

Some additional number of test kits were sent directly to community partner organizations by the vendor.

About 4,000 invalid test kits were distributed through the department.

An additional unknown number was distributed by partners who received these test kits directly from the distributor.

Anyone who received what they believe to be a Flowflex testing kit from the Health Department or as part of a Health Department program should check the lot number and discard it if they find the invalid number.

The department is conducting a full inventory check of all COVID-19 tests in stock to ensure that they are valid; and developing new procedures to confirm lot numbers and expiration date prior to shipment from our vendor.

Additionally, the department is working with the vendor to replace all invalid tests.

The department has also notified other health departments across the country to be aware of this problem and to check their stores.

Between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, the Health Department distributed more than 285,000 COVID-19 tests at mobile testing units, resource hubs, and through the test kit distribution program, which provides tests to community-based organizations, event organizers, and venues.

Residents who are interested in receiving free COVID-19 tests or getting PCR tested should visit the Health Department’s Find a COVID-19 Test website.