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With the omicron variant being the dominant strain of the novel coronavirus, health officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated, boosted and to keep masking up.

Last winter, the U.S. experienced a significant surge in COVID-19 cases as the colder weather kept people indoors. In an effort to fight the pandemic this winter, President Joe Biden's administration announced a plan to extend a mask requirement for domestic travel. It was originally slated to expire in January, but it was extended to mid-March.

Medical experts are recommending people switch from using basic cloth masks to more effective medical-grade masks.

"If you want maximum protection, an N95 or KN95, those kinds of masks are just much more effective," Jason Salemi, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida, said.

"A single layer cloth mask is absolutely better than wearing no mask at all but the problem is those cloth masks, they may pick up the larger droplets but they don't pick up really small aerosols and we know that this virus is passed as an aerosol," Salemi said.

While masking is crucial to slowing the spread of COVID-19, officials are also urging those who are unvaccinated to get the COVID-19 shot to protect themselves. In addition, if you have completed your vaccine series and are eligible to receive a booster, officials are also urging you to get the booster to increase your protection against both the delta and omicron variants.

Biden announced the administration will launch "family vaccination clinics" aimed at offering vaccines and boosters for entire families at once.

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