A White House official stated that President Joe Biden will on Thursday announce the deployment six military medical teams to help overwhelmed hospitals in New York and New Jersey.

As hospitals struggle with staff shortages, nurses and medical personnel are called out to treat patients with omicron.

Covid-19 hospitalizations were higher than those of last winter before widespread vaccine distribution. Data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows that more than 152,000 Covid-infected Americans had been admitted to hospital on Wednesday. That’s an increase of 18% in comparison with the previous week.

The U.S. reported almost 900,000 new infections on Wednesday, bringing the seven-day average to more than 786,000 new cases per day — a pandemic record and a 37% increase over the previous week, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

HHS data shows that more than 1,000 hospitals in the US are experiencing critical staff shortages. It’s possible that this is an underestimate, as many hospitals didn’t report their situation on Wednesday.

Gillian Schmitz is president of American College of Emergency Physicians. She said that front-line workers are under more strain now than ever before the pandemic.

Schmitz stated Wednesday to CNBC that “many areas across the country have reached the point when even their backup personnel are getting sick.” This surge in cases is affecting staffing across the country, Schmitz said Wednesday.

Biden stated his intention to send 1,000 military personnel to help hospitals, as the omicron variant was quickly overtaking the delta. Federal Emergency Management Agency also provides additional hospital bends, and sends ambulances and EMS teams in order to transport patients.

Schmitz said Wednesday that it was not enough. While I understand that everybody wants to assist as best they can, there is a limit on resources within national structures.

The sheer number of omicron-related infections is still threatening to overburden hospitals, according to epidemiologists.

A Kaiser Permanente Southern California study found that patients with omicron were 74% more likely to require intensive care, and 91% to die of the virus than those who had the delta variant. According to the study, none of the patients with omicron required mechanical ventilation.

According to the study, the overall hospitalization risk for patients with omicron was 52% less than that of people with delta. Omicron patients had hospital stays that were about three times shorter than delta patients.

Kaiser Permanente Southern California offers care for more than 4.7 millions people. Although the study has yet to be peer reviewed, it analyzed nearly 17,000 Delta cases as well as more than 52,000 Omicron cases.

Since months, nurses and doctors have been warning about the problem of staff shortages. The American Nurses Association urged the Biden administration in September to declare the national nursing crisis.

Ernest Grant, President of ANA at the time stated that: “The country’s health delivery system is overwhelmed and nurses are exhausted and frustrated as this persisting pandemic rages on without any end in sight.” Grant explained that only nurses can solve this problem, and they don’t have to bear the burden.

Janet Woodcock, Acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, told Congress on Tuesday that the U.S. should ensure essential services and hospitals don’t shut down when people are sick.

Woodcock, who testified Tuesday before the Senate Health Committee that “it’s difficult to comprehend what’s really happening right now,” said Woodcock. We need to make sure that hospitals, transport, and other vital services can continue functioning while this is happening.