A top immunologist is predicting that due to the highly infectious nature of the COVID-19 omicron variant and the natural immunity it will likely induce to those who recover, an end to the pandemic may be in sight.

“We’re now in a totally different phase,” Monica Gandhi, an immunologist at the University of California, San Francisco, told Bloomberg.

“I hope this variant creates profound immunity in the population,” she added. “It will hopefully end the pandemic.”