The Omicron COVID-19 variant set off an unprecedented increase in cases and hospitalizations in the US. The nation registered 12.4 million new coronavirus cases between December 1, 2021, when the first case of the Omicron variant was detected in the US on January 10.
That’s 21% — more than one in five — of the nation’s 60.2 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.
