There is a sense of cautious optimism within the scientific and medical communities that the more infectious, yet less pathogenic, omicron variant of coronavirus could be what’s needed to move the world out of the pandemic status it’s held for the better part of two years.

Health officials have warned that coronavirus is here to stay at this point. However, there’s hope for a not-too-distant future in which COVID doesn’t flood our hospitals and disrupt our society due to a significant level of immunity.