Young and healthy people are still at risk of 'long Covid' - symptoms lasting weeks or months after their initial diagnosis - explained infectious disease specialist Dr Kitonga Kiminyo.

While Omicron might be less severe, the number of Covid patients has surged past last winter's record, with over 150,000 people currently hospitalized for the disease.

Both hospitalization data and scientific studies of the Omicron variant have suggested that it's less likely to cause severe disease than past coronavirus strains.

At the same time, a number of lab studies have suggested that Omicron has less ability to infect the lungs than past variants.

Between 10% and 30% of people infected with the coronavirus go on to have Long Covid symptoms, according to the NIH.

Between ten and 30 percent of people infected with the coronavirus go on to experience Long Covid symptoms, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

One recent study found that Long Covid risk was on the higher end of the NIH's estimate.

Researchers at a Toronto hospital network performed a meta-analysis, compiling results from 81 studies on Long Covid.

Six months after symptoms started, the majority of those Long Covid patients still had symptoms

Scientists have not yet identified whether the risk of Long Covid is lower - or higher - after an Omicron infection, as it can take months to track these patients' symptoms

The number of Covid patients has surged past last winter's record with about 156,000 patients currently hospitalized in facilities nationwide, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)