In the current post-pandemic landscape, doctors and hospitals have shifted from the blanket universal COVID 19 testing protocols that were there at the height of the pandemic to more targeted and dynamic approaches that adjust based on local epidemiology and the seasonality of respiratory viruses.
Dr Deepesh G Aggarwal, Consultant Physician & HoD- Dept of Critical Care Medicine, Saifee Hospital, Mumbai shares if the protocol for COVID 19 testing changed in hospitals during seasonal viral surges.
Routine testing for asymptomatic admissions is NOT done now-a-days. However, during seasonal surges, when respiratory viruses such as influenza, RSV, Rhino Virus, and new COVID 19 variants begin circulating more actively, hospitals often reinstate or strengthen testing protocols as part of a broader respiratory surveillance strategy.
Currently, multiplex panels that screen simultaneously for multiple respiratory viruses are done to identify and differentiate the specific pathogens. This approach not only identifies COVID 19 but also helps distinguish it from other pathogens that produce similar clinical presentations.
Such panels are particularly useful in hospital settings with vulnerable populations, ensuring rapid isolation and treatment decisions when a surge is anticipated or in progress.
There is an adoption of a tiered strategy: routine targeted testing during periods of low viral activity; escalating to broader, sometimes even universal, testing combined with reinstated infection control measures (e.g., masking for healthcare workers) when community data indicate a surge in cases.
This adaptive protocol supports both patient and staff safety, helping to preempt outbreaks by tailoring the intensity of testing—and consequently isolation and mitigation measures—to the local environment.
To summarise, hospitals operate on a model that is both data-driven and responsive: reintroducing heightened testing and prevention protocols only when necessary, thereby optimizing resource use in a post-pandemic era.
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