Upstate lab to hire hundreds following omicron surge

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Just before Christmas, Greenville-based Premier Medical Laboratory verified 10 COVID-19 tests to be a few of the first confirmed omicron samples in the Upstate.

Since then, COVID-19 tests run through the lab have leapt 250% in a jump the company blames on an influx of the omicron strain during the holidays.

To keep abreast of the tests, Premier Medical Laboratory has launched an immediate hiring campaign for hundreds of new employees, including lab data entry clerks, medical lab technicians and medical technologists.

“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been proactive in fulfilling our staffing needs,” Kevin Murdock, CEO and founder of Premier Medical Laboratory Services, said in today’s news release. “To ensure that we continue to properly meet testing demands amid this new surge, we are looking to vastly expand our team and to provide jobs in the community.” 

The lab was already expanding its operations by more than 50,000 square feet in response to the autumn spike in Delta cases when it began to encounter the Omicron variant in late December.

Through a partnership with Clemson University’s Reddi Lab, the company confirmed 10 cases of the new variant collected on the university’s campus on Dec. 21 using Next Generation Sequencing.

Next Generation Sequencing decodes a virus’ genetic makeup to determine how it is mutating and spreading throughout a population, according to the company.