break. after the new year. but they have said that they are also looking at their testing protocols. boosting those a bit, as they are so critically needed right now. poppy? >> they absolutely are. alexandra field reporting for us live tonight. thank you so much. out front now, dr. peter hotez, co-director of the center for vaccine development at texas children's hospital. and dr. jonathan reiner who advised the white house medical unit under president george w. bush. thank you, both, very much. dr. hotez, this rapid rise in pediatric cases and hospitalizations all across the country as a pediatric doctor, how much worse do you think this is going to get for our kids? >> well right now, we are seeing omicron primarily in the northeast and the belt that's going from new york, new jersey, into ohio, indiana, and illinois. and i would expect omicron will, over the coming weeks, consume the entire nation. just like it did last -- just like the -- the alpha variant did last winter. so, what can we expect? well first of all, we saw a