At the Covid testing site in Santa Monica, the wait was at least 45 minutes long even with an appointment.
The omicron variant of Covid-19 has become the most common strain of the disease in the U.S., causing a massive increase of infections that threatens to strain hospitals and disrupt daily life.
The Omicron variant was the most common variant of Covid in the US during the week ending New Year's Day, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC collects samples of the virus that causes Covid and analyzes their genetic sequence to identify new variations and determine which strains of the virus are in the U.S.
The omicron variant has overtaken the delta variant in a matter of weeks. Omicron represented less than 1% of cases at the beginning of December.
According to data compiled by the University, the U.S. reported more than 1 million new infections on Monday. A CNBC analysis shows that the nation has reported more than 480,000 new infections in a seven day period.
Omicron's ability to partially evade the immunity generated by vaccines and cause breakthrough infections in large numbers is driving up cases.
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that people who have received boosters are protected against severe illness from omicron even if they have been exposed.
Biden said that it is unlikely that people will become seriously ill from Covid. We are seeing Covid-19 cases in vaccine-vaccinated places across America, but if you are up to date on your immunizations, you are protected.
The U.K. Health Security Agency found that Pfizer and Moderna's two-dose vaccines are only 10% effective at preventing infections from omicron 20 weeks after the second dose. The study shows that two doses still provide good protection.
The U.K. Health Security Agency found that booster doses are up to 75% effective at preventing the spread of the disease. Public health officials in the U.S. have been watching the data from the U.K. because of the omicron wave.
Biden warned people who are unvaccinated that they will get infections and develop serious illnesses if they are notvaccinated.
Biden said that some will die unnecessarily. Unvaccinated people are crowding emergency rooms and intensive care units. Other people need access to those hospitals.
Scientists and public health officials are still trying to figure out the severity of illness caused by omicron. The U.K. Health Security Agency found that people with omicron are less likely to need hospital treatment.
The University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Medicine found that lung infections from omicron are less severe than the original strain of the virus. The study found that omicron replicates much faster in the human airway.
The U.K. Health Security agency's chief medical advisor, Susan Hopkins, cautioned that it's still too early to draw definitive conclusions about severity, because the variant is just starting to reach more vulnerable groups. The World Health Organization cautions against treating omicron as a mild variant because the people who have been bitten are in younger age groups that have better clinical outcomes.
In the US, hospitalizations are increasing. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the number of Americans hospitalized with Covid-19 is up 32% from a week ago.
A small study out of South Africa found that people who were exposed to the new variant of omicron had increased immune protection. The study says that this could result in omicron delta being displaced in countries where they are co-circulating.
The incidence of Covid-19 severe disease would be reduced and the infection may shift to become less disruptive to individuals and society if omicrons delta is displaced.
This report was contributed to by CNBC's Nathan Rattner.
