The US set a record Tuesday for the number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus, shattering a previous mark set in January 2021.
The nation currently has 145,982 people hospitalized with the virus, according to data from the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department. That is far beyond the previous record of 142,000 established last year.
There are nearly 24,000 intensive care unit beds beings used to treat coronavirus patients across the country, with all but four states reporting more than 70% of their beds being occupied, according to HHS.
Cases have been spiking nationwide as the omicron variant has led to unprecedented levels in the winter surge. Approximately 1.5 million cases were registered Monday, data from Johns Hopkins University indicates.
The surge has again strained the US health care system with staffing issues further exacerbated by staff who have become infected, and schools have had to cope with rising infections among students and staff.
Vaccines continue to offer the best protection against the worst health outcomes from COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. The vast majority of people being sent to hospitals with infections are unvaccinated.
Vaccinated people are about five times less likely to become infected, more than 10 times less likely to be hospitalized and over 10 times less likely to die from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
