Frank Clark was treated for coronaviruses disease in his room on an isolated medical unit floor at Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Over the weekend, the number of patients with Covid-19 in the U.S. hospitals surpassed last winter's peak, and the country reported another single-day record of nearly 1.5 million new cases on Monday.
The number of Americans hospitalized with the flu has risen to more than 147,000 as of Tuesday, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The country reported 1.5 million new cases on Monday, pushing the seven-day average to 754,000 new cases per day.
A large portion of Covid hospitalizations seem to stem from people admitted for other reasons who test positive for the virus. The first surge of cases in the spring is not captured by the HHS until August 2020.
Many states report their weekend Covid testing data on Mondays so the daily tally of confirmed infections is likely artificially high.
According to the New York State Department of Health, 42% of the people hospitalized in New York are with Covid, whereas about half of the people hospitalized in Miami are with Covid. Most states don't track that level of detail in their Covid cases.
The availability of at- home test kits for which results are not reported to state or federal agencies is likely to be a factor in the undercount.
The Covid omicron variant is less severe than the delta strain, according to a growing body of evidence. He cautions that the sheer volume of infections and hospitalized people could still strain the hospital systems.
Fauci said that a certain proportion of cases will be severe. Don't take this as a sign that we can pull back from the recommendations.
Infections are on the rise in nearly every part of the country and average daily case counts are at record highs in 28 states as of Monday. A CNBC analysis of HHS data shows that 13 states and the District of Columbia are reporting a record level of current hospitalizations.
Scott Gottlieb, a Pfizer board member and CNBC contributor, said that 30% to 40% of the US population will be affected by omicron.
Many hospitals are short-staffed due to labor shortages or healthcare workers are forced to stay home after getting Covid because of the stress on the health system.
The Louisiana State Health Officer said on Full Court Press that the challenge was staffing.
It is difficult to retain staff for good reasons. It is hard to find new staff. That is the most limiting factor for our hospitals. It is not a physical bed, it is not a ventilator, it is not a PPE. Keeping enough qualified staff on board is what it is.
Illnesses among employees are impacting industries. Thousands of flights were canceled over the holidays due to Covid infections among crews and a series of winter storms. Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, told employees that the airline is shortening its schedule to deal with a surge in sick calls.
Some 4% of United's US workforce is positive for Covid, according to a staff memo published Monday.
The most significant risk from Covid remains for people who are not vaccine-free. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 63% of Americans are fully immunized, and 36% have received a booster dose.
Fauci told lawmakers at a hearing that it was a very wily virus. It has fooled everyone from the time it first came in to omicron to now, and we are doing the best we can.
The US is reporting a seven-day average of 1,650 Covid deaths per day, which is up from the previous week but still less than the peak levels seen last year.
Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, Tempus, Aetion and Illumina. He is a co-chair of the Royal Caribbean's "Healthy Sail Panel".
CNBC's Jessica Bursztynsky, Spencer Kimball, and Leslie Josephs contributed to the article.
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