| Health experts are still gathering more information on the omicron variant, but say the delta variant is still spreading across the U.S. and straining hospitals that are already exhausted.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Michigan are at levels last seen in April 2020 and at least nine hospitals there are reporting 100% patient capacity as of Monday, according to state health data.
In western New York, one county declared a state of emergency and reinstated face mask requirements for county-operated facilities due to the increasing number of occupied ICU beds "and the resulting impact on the ability of our hospitals to treat non-Covid-related acute care and emergency cases,” county executive Adam Bello said in a statement.
Health officials are reminding people that vaccines and booster shots are still the best defense against COVID-19 and all of its variants.
About 59.4% of the total U.S. population is vaccinated and just over 1 in 5 fully vaccinated Americans have received booster shots, CDC data shows.
We're still weeks away from knowing the full risks of the omicron variant, but the strong immunity response from vaccines against earlier variants is one reason public health officials say now is the time to get vaccinated or boosted.
“If Americans are tired of this and want to do something about it, as we are all tired of it, this is what you can do,” Dr. Francis Collins, National Institutes of Health director, told CNN Tuesday. “If you are not vaccinated yet, start tomorrow.”
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