
The country's health care system is overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients thanks to the omicron variant, which is far more contagious than previous variants of COVID-19. (Indeed, the omicron variant of COVID-19 may be the most contagious virus ever known to exist.)
Yet unlike previous variants, omicron has yet to bring in lockdowns in the United States or slow down travel. Indeed, air travel hasn't diminished the way it did at the start of the pandemic, and vast numbers of Americans are still traveling via airplane amid the surge.