record set almost a year ago of 142,000 hospitalizations. even more concerning, child hospitalizations are hitting new records as the omicron variant spreads. cnn s polo sandoval is watching all of this unfold for us. so, polo, what is the latest? reporter: fred, it s clear that federal health authorities are urging those who have not yet boosted after they have completed their initial series to get boosted as soon as they can. that s one of the reasons why the fda and cdc has amended that emergency use authorization that s been standing for some time, basically shortening that period of time from the initial vaccine series up to to that moment when they have to get the booster. now at five months versus the original six. so that s certainly something that they hope will lead to an increase in vaccination numbers and, of course, number of people being boosted because when you look at the number of hospitalizations, certainly continues to increase and the results have been
spreads. all of this is fueling more debate on how school districts can best keep kids and teachers safe. meantime, hospital staffing shortages and dwindling testing supplies are becoming more common. in california the national guard is being activated to help assist hospitals where needed. in colorado the state activated its crisis standards of care to keep up with the rise in patients. cnn s nadia romero is in atlanta where students are returning to classes in school, right, on monday, so what are people saying about the plans? reporter: yeah, fred, that is the plan so far, right, but the original plan was for them to return to in-person learning once they returned from holiday break, but then we had this rise in covid-19 cases, so they went back to remote learning. monday is the day. and on that day as well starts mandatory testing for teachers at the atlanta public school district, twice a week, and students can get tested as well with parental consent. that s how the