The U.S. has surpassed 900,000 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The death toll currently stands at 900,334.

The U.S. has had over 76 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

In Oklahoma, where just 9% of ICU beds are available statewide, for health care workers "every day is just filled with nonstop suffering," a nurse told ABC News.

"I just pray I don't have to zip up another body bag, I don't have to call someone and let them know that their loved one's not coming home," Kelly Hale, a nurse at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City, told ABC News. "We're all just one patient away from an emotional breakdown."

"The majority of our patients are unvaccinated which adds just a whole other level of difficulty for us," Hale said.

She continued, "No one really knows how many tears I shed. Not my family, not my friends. I really want them to know."

"Just please be nice if you know someone in the health care field that's going through this," Hale said. "Just reach out see if they're okay."

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

The daily death average in the U.S. now stands at more than 2,400 -- the highest daily death average in nearly one year and nearly double the average from one month ago.

But cases are continuing to fall with all but three states reporting declining or plateauing case rates. Washington state is seeing an increase in cases while Maine and Montana are reporting cases at a plateau, according to federal data.

Hospitalizations are also dropping nationwide. About 120,000 COVID-19-positive patients are currently in U.S. hospitals. Fifteen days ago, there were 160,000 patients, according to federal data.

However it's still not clear how many of these patients were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 and how many people coincidentally tested positive for the virus after they were admitted for other reasons.

Nearly 62 million eligible Americans remain completely unvaccinated.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

A new study from the California Department of Public Health found that your odds of testing positive for COVID-19 are 83% lower if wearing an N95 or KN95 mask while indoors compared to no mask. 

The odds of testing positive are 66% lower if wearing a surgical mask compared to no mask, and 56% lower if wearing a cloth mask compared to no mask, the study found.

This study, however, was conducted prior to the more contagious variants and did not inquire about additional infection control behaviors such as social distancing.

-ABC News' Sony Salzman, Aiya Aboubakr, Nitya Rajeshuni

Despite the emergence of the omicron variant and increased concerns over waning vaccine immunity, new data from the CDC shows that vaccines are still dramatically reducing the risk of testing positive, requiring hospitalization, or dying of COVID-19.

In December, unvaccinated adults had a three times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19, compared to vaccinated individuals. Previously reported data, published last month, showed that the unvaccinated were 15 times more likely to die from COVID-19 in November.

Similarly, in December, unvaccinated adults were five times more likely to test positive, compared to fully vaccinated and boosted Americans.

Unvaccinated adults, ages 30 to 49 years old, also saw the highest case-incidence rate while omicron was surging.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Cheyenne Haslett