The World Health Organization is hopeful of the Omicron variant offering "hope for stabilization and normalization." And the person who provided his news of hope is somebody who was most pessimistic about the spread the variant in Europe when it first entered the continent.

Dr. Hans Kluge, the director for the W.H.O.'s European region, has said that between vaccination and natural immunity through infection, "Omicron offers plausible hope for stabilisation and normalization. However, his optimism was couched with a warning saying that it was too early for the world to drop its guard. "The pandemic is far from over, but I am hopeful we can end the emergency phase in 2022 and address other health threats that urgently require our attention," Kluge said in a statement. (https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/statements/statement-two-years-on,-we-could-be-entering-a-new-phase-in-the-pandemic-with-plausible-hope-for-stabilization,-yet-too-early-to-drop-our-guard)

Kluge also held out hope against future variants saying that "a new wave could no longer require the return to pandemic-era, population-wide lockdowns or similar measures."

As Kluge's confidence comes on the heels of Dr Anthony S. Fauci expressing optimism that most states will soon reach and pass a peak in Omicron variant cases, there is at last two authorities holding out hope for the world. Like Kluge, Fauci also warned against overconfidence but said that things were "going in the right direction." (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fauci-optimistic-omicron-peak-february/story?id=82415835)

With Omicron causing much less severe disease than the previous variants like Delta, and less frequent ICU admissions, there is much hope that the world can heave a sigh of relief.

Scientists are yet to fully study the omicron variant to conclude that it can provide sufficient immunity against future variants, but the speed at which it has spread and infected could provide safety from reinfection at least for the next few months. (https://www.dw.com/en/omicron-is-natural-immunity-better-than-a-vaccine/a-60425426)


Read more:

Does Omicron mean the end for COVID-19? Anthony Fauci and other experts on Radio Davos:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/omicron-end-of-covid-19-anthony-fauci-radio-davos/


Omicron: Is 'natural immunity' better than a vaccine?:
https://www.dw.com/en/omicron-is-natural-immunity-better-than-a-vaccine/a-60425426