Concept image of COVID-19 cells (variants Gamma, Delta, and Omicron). For a long time, scientists couldn't figure out where Omicron had come from. Now, studies appear to point to one specific group. Matt Anderson Photography/Getty Images hide caption
Hospital staff at Gritman Medical Center in the northern Idaho city of Moscow were unable to find Katie Ripley an open ICU bed at a larger hospital as her condition deteriorated. Don & Melinda Crawford/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption
Nursing assistant Michelle Bryan dons a protective face shield before entering the room of a COVID-19 patient on the acute care floor. Kristyna Wentz-Graff/OPB hide caption
Thai classical dancers wearing face masks to help protect themselves from the coronavirus perform at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday. Sakchai Lalit/AP hide caption
A person visits a Covid-19 testing site along a Manhattan street in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Maya Goode, a COVID-19 technician, performs a test on Jessica Sanchez outside Asthenis Pharmacy in Providence, Rhode Island, on Dec. 7. Experts say infections due to the highly transmissible omicron variant may be peaking in some parts of the U.S. David Goldman/AP hide caption
People wait in line to get tested for COVID-19 at a testing facility in Times Square on December 9, 2021 in New York City. Spencer Platt / Getty Images hide caption
When Dr. Tiffany M. Osborn received her COVID-19 vaccination shortly after vaccines became available in late 2020, she felt hopeful about the pandemic's trajectory. A year later, she's sad and frustrated to see so many COVID patients in the ICU. Matt Miller / Washington University School of Medicine hide caption
A health care worker administers a COVID-19 PCR test at a free test site in Farragut Square on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, the CDC revised data reflecting the prevalence of the omicron variant in new COVID-19 cases. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption
A man is handed a swab for a rapid test as people line up for coronavirus testing at a gas station in the Reseda section of Los Angeles on Sunday. Richard Vogel/AP hide caption
New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced on Tuesday he will be postponing his planned Jan.1 inauguration ceremony. Brittainy Newman/AP hide caption
President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 response and vaccinations on Tuesday in the State Dining Room of the White House. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption
People line up outside a free COVID-19 vaccination site on Dec. 3 in Washington, D.C. Many areas are stepping up vaccination and booster shots as more cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus are detected in the United States. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption