U.S. health officials hold Covid briefing as cases and hospitalizations soar again

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Senior U.S. health officials are holding a Covid-19 press conference for the first time in over a month, as infections and hospitalizations are on the rise as more transmissible omicron subvariants spread across the country.

Dr. Ashish Jha will lead the briefing for the first time in his role as the White House Covid-19 response coordinator. White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky will provide updates as usual.

The U.S. is reporting more than 94,000 new infections daily on average as of Monday, a 25% increase over the week prior, according to data from the CDC. Hospitalizations have also increased 18% over the past week with about 3,000 people admitted with Covid every day on average, according to CDC data.

With infections and hospitalizations rising, the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer booster doses for children ages 5 to 11 this week. The FDA could authorize Covid vaccines for children under age 5, the only group left in the U.S. not eligible, as soon as next month.