Nationwide daily new cases were at a record seven-day average of more than 265,000 as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
While the global scientific community is still gathering data on the new variant, which was first detected in southern Africa in late November, there has been some encouraging early news.
A more mild disease with greater transmissibility could still wreak havoc on health-care systems if the absolute number of cases gets high enough, experts say. That's because even if a smaller share of people infected end up going to the hospital, that smaller share of a very large number could be enough to strain hospitals and impact care for both Covid and non-Covid patients.
"A higher peak can further overwhelm the system for other people as well," said Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, a professor of health policy and management at the City University of New York School of Public Health, explaining that fuller hospitals would make it harder to treat those with heart attacks or cancer or who, for example, got into a car accident.
The White House will deploy 1,000 military medical personnel to support hospitals facing a surge of patients infected with Covid this winter, President Joe Biden. The government will also purchase 500 million at-home tests that Americans can order online for free with delivery beginning in January. Americans are struggling to get tested during the busy holiday season, when many are navigating crowded airports to visit family. There's a shortage of at-home test kits, with national and independent pharmacies struggling to keep them in stock. Lines to get tested onsite at clinics in cities such as New York are sometimes hourslong.
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