The new variant has spread with surprising speed.

In only about a month’s time, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has supplanted the Delta variant as the most common iteration of the coronavirus in the United States. According to the latest data released yesterday by the CDC, Omicron variant is estimated to be responsible for approximately 73% of new confirmed COVID-19 cases, nearly six times the rate at which Omicron was causing cases just last week.

BREAKING: Omicron is now most common coronavirus variant in U.S., accounting for nearly three-quarters of COVID-19 cases, CDC says. https://t.co/HkpbuaGcNk

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 20, 2021

New case confirmations are rising around the United States, with New York in particular being hit especially hard. On Monday, New York government officials reported the highest number of new COVID-19 infections for the fourth day in a row, and infections in general are even higher than when the pandemic first began in March of 2020. However, thanks to infrastructure put in place over the course of the pandemic, the populace and officials are better equipped to handle the surge, so hospitalization rates have not yet reached the levels of the early pandemic.

CDC estimates that over 70% of new COVID cases last week were the Omicron variant. Yeah, that was fast. https://t.co/3g2CkpkOQ3 pic.twitter.com/qqmSiw4yrO

— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) December 20, 2021

Vaccine manufacturers are advising everyone not only to get the full two shots of either a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, but to also receive a third booster shot. Recently-released studies show an exponential increase in coronavirus-fighting antibodies after a booster shot, which is important as the Omicron variant is confirmed to possess spike proteins that make it better at evading a two-shot vaccine.