From assay validation to staffing and supply chain planning, labs can take steps to manage testing surges during flu and RSV season.
by Greer Massey, PhD, chief scientific officer at Molecular Designs
If the COVID-19 pandemic taught labs anything, it’s how quickly testing demand can overwhelm even the best workflows. Flu and RSV season is right around the corner, and with COVID still circulating year-round, the need for rapid and reliable diagnostics isn’t letting up anytime soon. In the past, many labs could power through the seasonal rush. But with new pathogens emerging and resistance patterns changing, that old playbook may not hold up like it used to.
Patients expect more, too. They want care that’s fast and accurate. A recent survey showed that one in three patients left a healthcare provider in the past two years, and 42% cited a poor experience as the reason. While we may not think labs play a part in the patient experience, patients certainly do. After all, the faster a patient gets results, the sooner treatment can begin.
But preparation can’t start when the first wave of samples hits the bench. It needs to start now. Here are some guidelines to help labs brace for seasonal surges and shift from reactive to responsive during flu season.
Start With the Basics—and Start Early
Planning should typically begin one to three months before respiratory season hits. With the right protocols in place, labs can offset some of that time by treating preparation as an ongoing process.
First, look at your assay validation methods and processes. Are your tests performing accurately and consistently? Is your validation compliant with CLIA and CLSI standards?
Second, double-check that your laboratory information system integrates properly with electronic health records and other health systems. This ensures you’re connected and ready to send and receive orders and results, manage patient data, and reduce potential errors.
Finally, invest in staff cross-training. Make sure technicians can cover multiple steps in the workflow—extraction, PCR setup, data review, or reporting—if needed. It’s one of the simplest ways to protect turnaround times during staffing shortages. The off-season is ideal for this kind of training, when there’s time for shadowing, simulation runs, and competency checks without the pressure of a full bench.
Embrace Automation and Multiplex Assays
If the goal is to get ahead of the rush, automation and multiplex assays are worth the work.
Automation reduces the hands-on effort required for repetitive steps like pipetting, extraction, and plate setup. This minimizes opportunities for human error and cross-contamination and ensures consistency from well to well—something that proves its worth when volume peaks. After all, robots don’t get sick during flu season.
Multiplex PCR adds another layer of efficiency. Detecting multiple pathogens in a single reaction saves time, conserves reagents, and increases throughput with fewer staff and instruments. The accuracy of a test depends on its design, not whether it’s simplexed or multiplexed. When built well, multiplexing provides the same confidence in the data—just in a fraction of the space on the PCR plate.
Finally, pre-plated panels remove manual reagent prep and pipetting steps altogether—two common sources of error in PCR workflows.
Build Supply Chain Resilience
The past five years have proven that it’s better to have something and not need it than need it and not have it. The early days of the pandemic, when routine supplies like swabs, pipette tips, and extraction kits became impossible to find, left many labs with a kind of operational “PTSD.”
The best way to avoid disruptions is to treat supply chain management as part of your seasonal readiness plan. Install tracking systems that flag low-stock items and expiration dates. That way, you can track usage patterns and place orders ahead of time.
Labs can also reduce their exposure by working with U.S.-based suppliers and manufacturers. Source your products domestically to help avoid delays tied to tariffs or international shipping bottlenecks. It’s also smart to keep a buffer stock of consumables like extraction reagents and pipette tips.
A little over-preparation can go a long way.
Plan for Staffing and Scheduling
Cross-training staff strengthens flexibility, but scheduling deserves equal attention. Peak flu and respiratory season often overlaps with the holidays—a time when many technicians take well-earned PTO and when illness among staff can further thin the roster.
Consider building flex shifts into your scheduling strategy before the season begins. Labs can adjust start and end times based on workload rather than standard hours. Staggered or overlapping shifts will help maintain continuous coverage.
Some labs also add overnight coverage, so results keep moving through the workflow around the clock. Even a few off-hour staff can shorten turnaround times and prevent backlogs that build up overnight.
Addressing staffing early gives your team a running start when testing volumes surge. It protects turnaround times and patient care. Plus, it helps keep morale high during one of the busiest parts of the year.
Readiness Equals Better Patient Care
Every step of preparation ties back to the same goals of protecting patients and giving them a better experience. Fast, accurate results don’t happen by chance. They come from labs that plan, validate early, keep their supply chains steady, and make sure the right people are in place when the pressure is on.
Respiratory season may not follow a strict calendar anymore, but the labs that treat readiness as a year-round mindset will stay steady no matter when the next surge arrives.
About the author: Greer Massey, PhD, is the chief scientific officer at Molecular Designs. Previously, Massey led research and development at Assurance Scientific, where she directed efforts for its SARS-CoV-2 emergency use authorization for symptomatic and asymptomatic testing. Before that, Massey managed the bioanalytical department at Southern Research and developed multiplex assays and their lyophilization as senior products manager at BioGX, Inc.
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