It’s beginning to the look a lot like Christmas at airports across the country, they are packed. Roads and highways are also filling up. And the Coronavirus is shape shifting again into the new contagious Omicron variant, new infections are toping one hundred and twenty-five thousand daily cases. That’s up twenty percent over the last two weeks.

Omicron isn’t putting a dent in holiday travel yet. Doctors says, for those who are fully vaccinated, it’s still safe to go their family gatherings. Holiday travel is ramping up with millions of Americans on the move, packing airports and filling roadways at pre-pandemic level. Fears of an Omicron surge, not enough to stop people from leaving home. More than 2.2 million people went through TSA security at airports across the country Friday. A jump of nearly 110% from last year. With bigger crowds, more than a third of the country not fully vaccinated, let alone boosted, and now Omicron, a growing risk for holiday travelers. Delta is still the dominant variant fueling new infections nationwide in all but five states. But health experts say the mutated Omicron is spreading fast and will soon take over Delta. Communities with low vaccination rates are especially hard hit. Adding strain to already overwhelmed healthcare systems. To help with the spread, health officials are urging people to test it and boosted, just 28% of the Americans have gotten an additional vaccine dose so far. For so many heading homes for the holidays, an extra layer of caution. And health officials are bracing for a possible triple-punch of Omicron, Delta and the flu with a possible surge of infections expected to start after the New Year.

:::tip shape shifting

• : one that seems able to change form or identity at will. 变形，变身

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:::tip make/put a dent in (idiom)

• : to decrease something slightly or to make something somewhat weaker. 减少，减弱

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