Coronavirus Watch: Hospitalizations rising sharply

The U.S. again has more than 100,000 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds, a Paste BN analysis of federal data shows. That means about as many people are in hospital beds now as when the delta variant peaked in September. 

Experts say the omicron variant sweeping the nation might be milder than earlier versions of the coronavirus, so a lower percentage of infected people could require hospitalization. But hospital beds are filling up – largely with unvaccinated patients – because so many more people are getting infected than ever before.

"These coming weeks are going to be challenging," President Joe Biden said Tuesday in an address to the nation.

In late November, unvaccinated adults were about 17 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than fully vaccinated adults, according to the most recent data from the CDC.

It's Tuesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news to know:

• The U.S. has doubled its purchasing order of a treatment pill from Pfizer from 10 million to 20 million, Biden said Tuesday before meeting with the White House COVID-19 response team. He called on Americans to get vaccinated and boosted and to wear masks in public.
• The U.S. topped the 1 million mark in new cases for the first time Monday, a figure that was likely enhanced by holiday weekend backlogs but does not account for at-home test results.
• The omicron variant accounted for more than 95% of all new cases in the week that ended Saturday, according to the CDC.
• The CDC updated its recommendation on Tuesday for when many people can receive a booster shot, shortening the interval from six months to five months after the second shot for people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. 
• Chicago teachers were expected to vote Tuesday on whether to switch to remote learning. The school district has ordered teachers back to their classrooms and said classes will be canceled Wednesday if teachers vote for remote learning.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 56.6 million COVID-19 cases and 828,800 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 294 million cases and more than 5.4 million deaths. About 73% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 62% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 85% have received at least one shot, and about 73% are fully vaccinated.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck