The United States is about to enter its second Christmas, and new year’s, with Covid-19This year, there are more cases than ever before. But we’re better prepared this year thanks to readily available booster shots and vaccines.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 62 million Americans had received boosters as of Tuesday. This represents roughly 19% and 30% respectively of total vaccinated Americans. A booster has been administered to 55%, or about half of all seniors who are fully vaccinated.

Some of the contagious, highly mutationated Omicron Covid variants have been identified in America since their first confirmation on December 1, 2001. biggest daily surges in vaccine shotsIt can take several months. According to federal data, boosters account for much of the spike in shots. These boosters are given more often than the first and second doses combined.

According to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of CDC, “It has over 50 mutations and just two doses might not be sufficient.” CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith”Monday. “And so, we need people to be boosted to increase their protection against serious disease and death with Omicron.”

Early studies indicate that people who have not been vaccinated are most at risk. Even though they are more likely to get a breakthrough infection, those with two doses are still susceptible. Three shots will protect you from the omicron variant. Pfizer and BioNTech announcedAn early laboratory study revealed that, while only two doses may offer severe disease protection, protection can be improved by a third.

Moderna made a similar announcementOn Monday, the company stated that it had found that three doses of its mRNA vaccination provide substantial protection against the Omicron variant. A two-shot regimen was less effective.

Recent weeks have seen a rise in the number of Americans calling for booster shots due to the fact that vaccines are less effective against omicron. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the variant accounted for only a fraction of the cases in the U.S. by Dec. 11. It accounted for more than 73%.

President Joe Biden stated that “our doctors have made it very clear: booster shots provide the best protection.” remarks to the country on TuesdayEncourage the millions of eligible people to apply for booster shots.

A seven-day average of Johns Hopkins University data shows that the country has reported nearly 150,000 Covid cases per day as of December 21, which is 23% more than last week, and 54% higher than before Thanksgiving.

Walensky stated that the CDC was “examining” what it means by fully vaccinated. This definition is crucial as many companies, municipalities, and the federal government require that all employees, residents, and patrons are fully vaccinated in order to work, travel, or take part in certain activities. The CDC states that a person is considered fully vaccinated after two weeks of receiving a second dose. ModernaOder PfizerTwo weeks or shots after one dose Johnson & Johnson‘s vaccine.

Although the White House and CDC seem to have motivated some Americans to take the shot, others appear to be opposed or ignorant of the new recommendations. 

Surveys from the Kaiser Family Foundation released TuesdayAccording to research, half of the vaccinated adult population who haven’t received booster doses say that hearing about omicron has increased their chances of getting one. However, the new version doesn’t seem to persuade unvaccinated Americans. The overwhelming majority (87%) of adults unvaccinated said that omicron doesn’t make them more likely get vaccinated.

Rupali Lishe, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that “a big issue here will be how to get boosters, but at the other time we still have to work on people who still don’t have any jabs.” Limaye has worked closely with the state departments of health during vaccine rollout and studies vaccine decision making. 

Kaiser Survey also revealed that although most Americans are well-aware of the CDC’s recommendation to get a booster shot, knowledge is much lower among minority groups. Eighty percent (of white respondents) said they had heard that the agency recommended boosters for adults. This compares to 72% among Black respondents, and 69% from Hispanic respondents. 

The World Health Organization, Wednesday criticized Covid-19 vaccine booster programsAs poor countries have difficulty getting their initial vaccines, the world is becoming more difficult. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus from WHO, Director-General of Immunizations, stated that unrestricted access could result in additional mutations that prolong the pandemic.

According to scientists, Omicron may have been born in South Africa from an HIV patient. Only 26% of South Africans are fully immunized.

According to the CDC 62% of Americans are fully vaccinated. This leaves a significant portion of America’s population at risk.

Limaye stated that if there were two-fifths the population without any protection, then omicron would find them.

Omicron was detected for the first time in Southern Africa last month. However, much is still unknown about its severity. Maria Van Kerkhove (WHO’s Covid-19 technical leader) said that although there are some indications that omicron hospitalizations rates may be higher than for the delta variant it is too soon to make any definitive conclusions regarding omicron severity.

According to the seven-day average of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data, approximately 69,000 Americans have been hospitalized for Covid-19. This is an increase of 11% in the last two weeks, but relatively flat the past seven. 

It is evident that omicron has a high transmittibility. According to CNBC’s analysis of Hopkins data, cases are on the rise in several parts of the nation, with the Northeast seeing the most new, population-adjusted, daily, cases. 

According to Dr. Rochelle Wilensky, CDC director, the omicron Covid-19 strain has rapidly overtaken Delta as the predominant strain in the United States. It accounts for about 90% of cases in certain parts of the country.

As of Saturday, 73% of all cases were caused by this variant in America according to latest data from Center for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. officials stated last week that omicron was responsible for 2.9% of the cases through December 11, but they later increased this number to 12.6%.

The average daily New York City case load has tripled since Sunday, December 19, according to latest city data. health department websiteThe average daily number of cases was nearly 11,400 per day, which is a 7-day high. According to data, 10.4% has been recorded as the average percentage of positive test results in the city over the past seven days.

Texas announced what appeared to be the first American omicron death in a Houston man earlier this week.

Omicron experts warn that it can still cause serious health problems, even if it is less severe than other infectious disease agents. This is because of how quickly it spreads and how many people it infects.

According to Dr. Bruce Y. Lee of the City University of New York School of Public Health, “If a peak will occur, it may be greater.” If the healthcare system has too many patients, it can lead to an acceleration in mortality.

Lee stated that the latest spike in cases was not caused by omicron. It was widely distributed in November. Omicron “further fueling this upswing,” said he. 

He said, “Even though it didn’t happen, there was a good possibility we would have witnessed a winter surge.”

Lee advised that a booster dose should be taken now as it can take up to two weeks for the full effect of protection. Lee said that you need to “assume” you are not protected, so you can continue with other safety precautions like mask wearing, social distancing and good ventilation indoors. This applies both to the delta and the omicron versions. 

CNBC’s Hannah MiaoParticipatory reporting