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Hundreds of thousands of expired COVID test kits in Florida can still be used.
The FDA recently granted the state's request to extend the kits' expiration date by another three months to March.
The Division of Emergency Management has between 800,000 and one million test kits that originally expired in September due to lack of demand. The state was able to get an extension that moved the expiration date to the end of December before asking for this most recent extension.
Gov. DeSantis addressed this during a visit to Bonita Springs on Wednesday.
He said they will be sent to county health departments, hospitals, long-term care facilities, emergency management offices and public safety agencies.
The governor says the test kits are not being sent directly to residents as only trained medical professionals can administer them at testing sites. They are not at-home tests.
DeSantis claims the feds dragged their feet.
"I think the department basically was correct to not send if they may not have been accurate. And so they needed the FDA to be able to say that. It took the FDA a long time, but it takes them a long time to do everything."
He says the current requirements of testing to board airlines and other transportation are overkill, and that the feds will eventually come around to Florida's position.
As for why the FDA was able to extend the expiration date a second time, the agency says that "ongoing stability studies" prove the kits are still accurate and usable.