cases. the u.s. seven-day rollinging average number of cases stands at 400,000. now, more than 103,000 people in the u.s. are hospitalized with coronavirus. it s the first time the total has reached six figures in nearly four months. states also reporting surges in child hospitalizations, which are now the highest they ve ever been, with more than 500 children being admitted every day. this as the omicron variant complicates returning to school, with some of the largest districts shifting to remote learning and others relying on more robust testing. in chicago, the third largest school district in the country, the teachers union there, is gearing up for a potential walkout as cases there are skyrocketing. today, they will hold an emergency meeting to vote on measures they deem safe. in the meantime, many students are eligible for booster shots. the fda is authorizing pfizer s coronavirus vaccine boosters for children ages 12 to 15. the agency is also shortening the timing o
we should note the number of hospitalizations are not rising at the same rate to date. the cdc lowering its estimate of the variant from 70 to 59%. that drop suggests while the new variant is on the rise, it was not infecting people at the same rate the agency had initially projected. pediatric hospitalizations are near their september peak. nationwide, hospitalizations of children with the virus have jumped on average nearly 50% in just one week. parents are understandable concerned as vaccination rates, particularly among the pediatric population, continue to lag, leaving many children vulnerable to infection. president biden now says the vaccine requirements for domestic travel could be imposed if his medical team recommend it. but dr. fauci said don t expect one for now. health officials are advising we should be bracing for case numbers to skyrocket in the new year. now to laeyla santiago in miami. we know sometimes the waits have been hours long. leyla. reporter: ye
concerned as vaccination rates, particularly among the pediatric population continue to lag, leaving many children potentially vulnerable to infection. president biden says vaccine requirements for domestic travel could be imposed if his medical team recommends it. dr. fauci says don t expect that one for now, as health officials are advising we should brace for cases to skyrocket in the new year. leyla santiago in miami with more. good morning, leyla. reporter: good morning, john. we have been at this site all week long. this is one of the busiest in south florida. and we really haven t seen the lines lit up. we are still talking to people who tell us they had to wait three hours to be tested. now, we have also talked to the workers here. they tell us they are expecting that demand in testing to continue into the new year. it s almost like covid started all over again. so with the influx of patients coming through. a lot of people aren t feeling well. that is why their h
cases. nationwide, hospitalizations of children are also near their september peak. right now, an average of just over 300 children are fighting covid-19 in a hospital on any given day and that s a stunning jump of nearly 50% in just one week. and as health officials warn of a long winter ahead, cautioning that cases will skyrocket during the first few months of the year, president biden now says vaccine requirements for domestic travel could be imposed if his medical team recommends it. we have a lot to get to this morning. we have reporters covering all the angles, let s begin with cnn s senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen on the news that the fda says at-home covid-19 antigen tests, the rapid tests, may have a reduced sensitivity in detecting the omicron variant. wow. wow. so let me tell you what that means, poppoppy. pregnancy tests are a little bit like antigen tests. if a pregnancy test says you re pregnant, you re pregnant. right. you re pregnant. yes. y
coronavirus infections have been a key metric in what s to come here. a first indicator, if you will, before hospitalizations and in worst cases death. but that may no longer be the case in 2022. i think this is the most important part of this moment in this pandemic. we have to do a shift. look, for two years infections always preceded hospitalizations which preceded deaths. so you could look at infections and know what was coming. this is the shift we ve been waiting for in many ways. we re moving to a phase where if you re vaccinated, particularly if you re boosted, you might get an infection. it might be a couple of days of not feeling so great but you re going to bounce back. that s very different than what we have seen in the past so i no longer think infections generally should be the major metric. obviously we can continue to track infections among unvaccinated people because those people will end up in the hospital at the same rate. we have to focus on hospitalizat