New York state recorded 90,132 COVID-19 cases and 154 deaths on Friday.

11,843 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized in the state. Of the hospitalized, 42% are cases where COVID was not included as one of the reasons for admission, the governor's office said.

"There is an answer to this winter surge and it's simple: the vaccine and the booster," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. "Our vaccination rate among children is still too low. Parents and guardians don't delay in getting your children vaccinated and boosted, if eligible."

As of Friday, data showed the omicron variant represented 94% of sequences uploaded by New York State between Dec. 24 and Jan. 6, according to the governor's office.

Los Angeles County saw over 43,000 new cases in one day, a new record, health officials announced Friday.

This beats Thursday's previous record high of 37,000.

There are 2,902 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized in the county, according to health officials.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer noted that vaccinated individuals are "between 10 and 30 times less likely to need hospital care than those unvaccinated."

"Every resident can also do their part to protect our healthcare personnel and hospitals. Please get vaccinated or boosted as soon as possible if eligible," she said in a statement.

-ABC News' Alex Stone

The U.S. recorded more than 705,000 COVID-19 cases Thursday and is currently averaging 586,000 new cases per day -- the highest ever recorded during the pandemic. new federal data shows.

With a total confirmed case count of 58.8 million COVID-19 infections, this means one in approximately every five Americans have tested positive for the virus.

New York City is currently recording the country's highest case rate, followed by New Jersey and New York state

Meanwhile, the U.S. is reporting an average of about 1,200 new COVID-19 deaths per day, up by about 10% in the last week.

The death toll currently stands at 834,000, meaning about 1 in every 393 Americans has died from COVID-19.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine dramatically reduces the risk of teenagers developing MIS-C, a dangerous inflammatory condition, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Friday.

MIS-C is a condition in which different body parts can become inflamed such as the heart, lungs and kidneys. It tends to appear in kids and adolescents two to six weeks after becoming infected with COVID-19.

Researchers looked at children and teens between ages 12 and 18 from 24 hospitals across the country.

They found that the vaccine was 91% against MIS-C. Of the children who were critically ill with MIS-C and required life support, all were unvaccinated.

"No fully vaccinated patients with MIS-C required respiratory or cardiovascular life support, as opposed to 39% of unvaccinated MIS-C patients who did," the authors wrote.

-ABC News' Sony Salzman

Chicago Public Schools canceled its Wednesday classes after the Chicago Teachers Union voted against in-person learning amid a wave of COVID-19 cases.

All classes, both in-person and virtual, and all after-school activities have been cancelled.

"I understand your frustration and deeply regret this interruption to your child's learning," said Pedro Martinez, chief executive of the schools. "We want out children back in their classrooms as soon as possible and will continue working with the CTU to reach an agreement that addressed their concerns and that is in the best interest of all in our CPS community, especially our children."  

About 88% of the union's leadership and 73% of members voted on Tuesday to return to remote education, the union said in a statement.  

"To the parents and guardians of this city, we want you to know that when you put your children in our care we put their well-being and safety first," the union said in a statement. "We fight for your children like they are our own, because they are. As this pandemic continues, we will do everything in our power to ensure that our classrooms are the safest and healthiest places for your children to learn, thrive and grow."

Teachers were being locked out of their Google Classrooms, the union said on Twitter.