COVID-19 hospitalizations have surpassed levels seen during last winter's surge and are now at an all-time high, HHS data shows.
Four things to know:
1. As of Jan. 10, 145,982 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 in the U.S. Hospitalizations had previously peaked at 142,273 on Jan. 14, 2021, according to The Washington Post.
2. The U.S. reported 23,524 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units as of Jan. 10, down from a record of 29,591 reported Jan. 12, 2021.
3. COVID-19 cases are also at record levels nationwide. As of Jan. 10, the nation's seven-day new case average was 767,597, according to data from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University.
4. The record levels of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, driven by the highly infectious omicron variant, come as 19 percent of hospitals report critical staffing shortages.