Vaccinated and test positive? What to know about omicron, COVID for this holiday season.

As COVID-19 cases surge, fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus, Americans wonder how to approach the holidays and safely travel and gather with friends and family. 

The pace of new cases in the USA is up 41% compared with a month ago, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data. For much of December, cases hovered around 120,000 but have jumped to more than 130,000 a day.

As of Saturday, the omicron variant accounted for 73.2% of new COVID-19 infections in the nation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The week ending Dec. 11, it accounted for 12.6% of new cases. 

Health experts said COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against the new strain, which may lead to more breakthrough infections. Boosters provide more protection against omicron, but the CDC reported only 30% of the eligible population has received their booster.