Dr. Scott Gottlieb: Covid wave in U.S. will move quickly, could peak in weeks

U.S. Covid cases have hit their highest level of the pandemic as two highly infectious variants circulate throughout the country and health officials urge Americans to get vaccinated and boosted against the virus.

Nationwide daily new cases were at a record seven-day average of more than 265,000 as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, surpassing the previous high mark of about 252,000 average daily cases set on Jan. 11, 2021.

The fresh pandemic peak comes as the delta and omicron variants are spreading simultaneously. The previously dominant delta variant was already driving U.S. case counts higher this fall before the emergence of omicron, which is contributing to a near-vertical rise in daily new cases.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner and CNBC contributor, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss the concerning omicron coronavirus variant in the U.S. and more. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO:

U.S. Covid cases have hit their highest level of the pandemic as two highly infectious variants circulate throughout the country and health officials urge Americans to get vaccinated and boosted against the virus.

Nationwide daily new cases were at a record seven-day average of more than 265,000 as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, surpassing the previous high mark of about 252,000 average daily cases set on Jan. 11, 2021.

The fresh pandemic peak comes as the delta and omicron variants are spreading simultaneously. The previously dominant delta variant was already driving U.S. case counts higher this fall before the emergence of omicron, which is contributing to a near-vertical rise in daily new cases.

About 75,000 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19 and the country is reporting more than 1,500 daily deaths. Though both figures are rising, they are lower than when the last daily case record was set nearly a year ago, before Covid vaccinations were widely available. Hospitalizations topped 137,000 at that point, according to a seven-day average of data from the Department of Health and Human Services, and Johns Hopkins data shows the average death toll was more