A woman holds the head of her 6-year-old son as a nurse collects a nasal swab sample for a COVID-19 test in Tustin, California on January 6. The US is reporting six positive cases each second while the global cases crossed the 300 million mark on January 7. Photo: VCG

 Temporary mass vaccination sites that were wound down months ago across the United States are being reopened to get more people vaccinated and boosted in the latest surge of COVID-19 fueled by the Omicron variant.

"Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island are among states that have opened or are planning soon to open sites designed to administer hundreds or even thousands of shots a day," reported The Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

Officials said they are expanding capacity again largely to provide booster shots and reach children who recently have become eligible for vaccines. Many states shifted to smaller, more-targeted inoculation efforts after demand waned in the summer of 2021.

Of Americans 5 years or older who are eligible to be vaccinated, 66.3 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 38 percent of fully vaccinated adults have received booster shots.

"Officials running the mass vaccination sites say they also hope to reach some of the 27 percent of adults who aren't fully vaccinated ... Interest among unvaccinated adults hasn't risen during the Omicron surge, though," said the report.

Royal Caribbean Group, an American global cruise holding company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami of Florida, has suspended some of its cruise operations amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections due to the Omicron variant.

The sailings of three ships, Serenade of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas, have been suspended while the return of its Vision of the Seas to cruising has been postponed to March 7, 2022, said a company statement on Friday.

The CDC recently told Americans to avoid travel on cruise ships, regardless of their vaccination status. The advisory came in response to a surge in cases in recent weeks, caused by the spread of the contagious Omicron variant.

Most major cruise lines do not publicly announce the number of coronavirus cases on board their ships, but they are required to submit daily figures to the CDC. Currently, the agency is monitoring more than 90 cruise ships.

The travel industry will have to "roll with the punches" as government requirements continue to evolve with the pandemic, Todd Handcock, president of Asia Pacific & Global Board Member Collinson International, told CNBC this week.

"The key thing is that the industry will remain in flux for the foreseeable future," Handcock said.