COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's top health agency is warning residents of a bad batch of rapid COVID tests that may not be accurate.
According to the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), a limited number of iHealth brand COVID-19 at-home tests may have "faulty result cartridges" because of an error from the manufacturer. DHEC reports that they may return inaccurate results including a "very faint" control line.
DHEC is disposing of all the impacted tests it has, however it also stressed that not all iHealth brand tests were impacted.
The specific lots include:
- 221CO20130 Exp: 7/29/2022
- 221CO20103 Exp: 7/2/2022
- 221CO20124 Exp: 7/23/2022
These numbers are on the back of the box and while the expirations have passed, they may still be in circulation due to the approved extended use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Anyone who has an impacted test should discard it in the trash and get a replacement from a local health department office.