160,000 people are hospitalized with covid right now. that's a record high. but as cnn's omar jimenez reports, the number of daily cases are actually trending down, even as some hospitals are growing more crowded by the day. >> the reason this january is so dramatically different from last january is because we have the tools we need to protect people. >> reporter: being boosted has never been more important. >> protection against infection and hospitalization with the omicron variant is highest for those who are up to date with their vaccination, meaning those who are boosted when they are eligible. >> reporter: one cdc study published friday looked at 88,000 hospitalizations across ten states in december and january when omicron has been dominant. finding being boosted was 90% effective at preventing hospitalization during omicron. only slightly down from the 94% when delta was a dominant variant. so boosting remains the highest protection possible. but for those with just two