evidence: The U.S. on Wednesday counted more than 480,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day. Cases increased nearly 70% over the past week, but hospitalizations have gone up only about 12%. Omicron is causing record-breaking numbers of COVID cases around the world. Yesterday, the U.S. counted more than 480,000 cases in a single day. That's more than double the number of daily cases reported during the peak of the delta surge. So there's no doubt the omicron surge is going to be big, but some public health officials say it might not be as bad. And we're getting some more promising news about vaccines. NPR's global health correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff joins us to explain more. Good morning. [...] NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.