Caution ordering Covid Tests from Emed

[s0479]

46 minutes ago, sippican said:

 

What number do you call?

.The FDA gave permission to Abbott to extend the expiration date. Here are the directions.

1 (866) 955-1173 and they extended to 15 months now

Edited January 20, 2022 by s0479

[kenb]

FYI If you are planning to use Optum as a backup, they are out of stock on Binax AG tests.

[Islandhop9]

1 hour ago, kenb said:

FYI If you are planning to use Optum as a backup, they are out of stock on Binax AG tests.

Wow, yep. 

 

"We are currently out of stock. Please check back after January 25th to place an order." 

 

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, dreams_of_travel said:

i ordered earlier this month, and eventually got my tests.  I do not live where they ship to me in 2 days or whatever their site says.  My 6-pack from eMed has an expiration date of 11-21-2022.  Hope your order shows up quickly now.  Your call may have unstuck it. 

 

Thanks... my call must have unstuck the valve.    I got an email that my kits had shipped on FedEx overnight and suppose to be delivered tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the information on the Expiration Dates.   I hope mine are also late 2022.    I'll need 4 of them in April but also have cruises in August.    I certainly will feel less pressure if I have them on hand without having to worry last minute.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, kenb said:

FYI If you are planning to use Optum as a backup, they are out of stock on Binax AG tests.

 

That was my experience also but I was able to order some of a different band (On/Go) and they arrive in 48 hours.

 

I think the supply issue may have peaked and with the Government sending out kits may reduce the demand for purchasing our preferred Binax Ag tests.

[Jim_Iain]

30 minutes ago, Islandhop9 said:

Wow, yep. 

 

"We are currently out of stock. Please check back after January 25th to place an order." 

 

Wow... when I ordered from EMed I had checked Optum and they were our of stock  of the unmonitored tests but had the 2 pak of the BinaxNow Covid-19 Ag monitored.   I just looked and they are saying out of stock like you said.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I'm getting more and more confused, might be age or wine, can't tell.  Anyway, if we receive a test in the next few days/weeks is the expiration date extended or is the date on the package the real expiration date.  We have a cruise in March and December 21, 2022 so if the test we receive says it expires November 27, 2022 us ut extended an additional 3 or 6 months or is this the real expiration date?

[Jim_Iain]

5 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

I'm getting more and more confused, might be age or wine, can't tell.  Anyway, if we receive a test in the next few days/weeks is the expiration date extended or is the date on the package the real expiration date.  We have a cruise in March and December 21, 2022 so if the test we receive says it expires November 27, 2022 us ut extended an additional 3 or 6 months or is this the real expiration date?

It is the date on the test kit.   As i understand it the kits originally had a 9 month shelf life and was extended to 12 months.   So if you look at the label and add 3 months to the expiration date that is the new expiration date.

 

Posted by @sippican

Edited January 21, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[helen haywood]

The tests I ordered recently with an expiration date of November 21, 2022 do not have an extension date is my understanding.  The tests made last year were given an extension by the FDA of three months…but I think the current tests’ expiration date is the expiration date…you don’t add three months.

[s0479]

25 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

It is the date on the test kit.   As i understand it the kits originally had a 9 month shelf life and was extended to 12 months.   So if you look at the label and add 3 months to the expiration date that is the new expiration date.

 

Posted by @sippican

It is now 15 months- I would call to be safe

[Jim_Iain]

Just now, s0479 said:

It is now 15 months- I would call to be safe

Thanks ---- I didn't actually do any research on expiration but just read the picture that was attached.

 

So I guess now you would take the expiration date and add 6 months if the 15 month is the new extension period.    We each need to confirm with the vendor for ourselves.  

[Algebralovr]

Interesting reading.

I had ordered a 6-pack from eMed last October and was unhappy when they delivered 6 tests that had expired Sept 18,2021.  We used 4 of them for our Nov cruise on RF, but the rest expired before our Dec 21 cruise, even with the extension.  Literally the day before.  I was annoyed.  
 

So I ordered a pair of tests from Optum, but ended up getting tested locally and not using them.  They expire in February just after our Feb 14 cruise. We plan to use them then.  However, with all the issues, I am nervous that they will all have the liquid they need.

 

So, I ordered a package of 6 from eMed.  Ordered Monday, they arrived today.  Expiration date is Nov 21, 2022.  We have another Nov cruise planned, and we are considering adding Alaska this summer.  Uncertain about Alaska.   
 

Considering a couple of additional events that are discussing requiring negative tests, so I’ll have these on hands.

[mayleeman]

22 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

If I had waited until 2-3  weeks pre-cruise I would be going nuts.

 

One thing I like about so many of your posts is how your planning and contingencies demonstrate how to avoid going nuts!

[CyberTag]

We have a cruise planned in April, one in June and another in a October.  Trying to figure out when to order our tests since don’t want to receive expired ones.   Hmmmm

[Algebralovr]

6 minutes ago, CyberTag said:

We have a cruise planned in April, one in June and another in a October.  Trying to figure out when to order our tests since don’t want to receive expired ones.   Hmmmm

Pretty sure you will be safe to order them now, based on the ones I received and others I saw respond.  Apparently some of the dates are even into December!

[Torfamm]

I ordered at 6:00 pm EST on Tuesday and received my 6 pack before noon today Expiration date in December of this year

[cmoore5524]

43 minutes ago, CyberTag said:

We have a cruise planned in April, one in June and another in a October.  Trying to figure out when to order our tests since don’t want to receive expired ones.   Hmmmm

I ordered a 3 pack Monday from Optum and they arrived today. They expire in December 2022.  

[abbydancer2003]

Thanks for the heads up.  We're cruising the first week of April, and so far (Princess for April) hasn't published their guidance for testing.  I seriously doubt it will change, though, so my plan is to get the 5 pack as soon as I know we'll need it, especially since it appears they'll be good for a while. (check my signature).

 

I had an Optum 2 pack that I ordered in September - I had October, November and December cruises.  They expired about 2 days into our December cruise, so I used them for that.  I had backup appointments in case there was a problem, but they both worked fine.

[tromvest]

Could someone post the link on the Celebrity site for the proctored at home tests that Celebrity accepts? I can’t seem to find it. 
I have a May 3rd cruise and want to order them now.

thanks! 

[Turtles06]

23 minutes ago, tromvest said:

Could someone post the link on the Celebrity site for the proctored at home tests that Celebrity accepts? I can’t seem to find it. 
I have a May 3rd cruise and want to order them now.

thanks! 

The Healthy at Sea FAQs will take you to this link for the Optum store, where they are out of stock. But you can order the same tests from eMed.com. 

 

https://store.optum.com/celebrity-cruises/

[mac_tlc]

8 hours ago, Algebralovr said:

Pretty sure you will be safe to order them now, based on the ones I received and others I saw respond.  Apparently some of the dates are even into December!

After reading through this thread, I have concluded that your screen name is exactly what is required to determine the correct expiration date.

 

I have relied on CVS testing so far, and hoping I can continue that. 
 

mac_tlc

[tromvest]

24 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

The Healthy at Sea FAQs will take you to this link for the Optum store, where they are out of stock. But you can order the same tests from eMed.com. 

 

https://store.optum.com/celebrity-cruises/

Thank you! 

[Sam.Seattle]

19 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Mine must have been stuck.   What was the expiration date on yours?

2022-11-01

[Hickeyclan1]

On 1/19/2022 at 11:38 PM, Jim_Iain said:

I'm planning ahead for an April cruise so I have plenty of time but was concerned for others who are sailing soon.  

 

If I had waited until 2-3  weeks pre-cruise I would be going nuts.

Jim,

 

Any idea how long they are good for?  We sail on March 28 and trying to figure out when to order...

[lkj1301]

Back in Sept I had ordered a 6 pk from eMed.  Thought nothing about looking for an expiration date.  Was planning on using 2 in Oct, 2 in Dec and 2 in Feb.  When I finally did look at the exp date, they had expired before I even ordered them.  But that was when the exp date had been extended 3 months.   A couple of weeks ago I called eMed since my final 2 would be unusable (expired from original extention).  Below is the email I received after going back and forth with them a few times. So my final 2 kits will still be good for our Feb 25 cruise.   Kenya (eMed) Jan 12, 2022, 5:11 PM EST Dear Valued Customer,    Thank you for contacting eMed.   Effective immediately, the test kits that have an original expiration date of September 2021, October 2021, and November 2021 have since been extended for an additional 6 months by the FDA. This means their updated expiration dates are now **March 2022, April 2022, and May 2022.   **The updated expiration date will be determined by the date you have on each test kit. Please take a look at the date next to the hourglass on the white label to find the original expiration date. Once you locate the original date, you will then add an additional 6 months to determine your kit’s updated expiration date.   For example, if your current expiration date is September 6, 2021, your new expiration date is now March 6, 2022.   Please note, if your purchase was made on or after December 1, 2021, you should have received test kits with an expiration date in October 2022 or November 2022. These particular kits are not under the extension at this time due to the fact that they were recently manufactured.   When you are ready to test, please visit www.emed.com and click on "start testing".  Once your test kit expiration date falls within the aforementioned dates, you will be able to test with no issues.   For more information regarding the expiration date extension, you may visit www.fda.gov or click on the actual link to the FDA extension letter:  https://www.fda.gov/media/155326/download     Thank you for choosing eMed.     Best regards,   eMed Customer Support Team

Edited January 21, 2022 by lkj1301
change 2 pk to 6 pk