ANKARA

Bill Gates said Wednesday he thinks the “acute phase” of the coronavirus pandemic will come to a close in 2022.

"I am hopeful, though, that the end is finally in sight," the Microsoft co-founder and American business magnate wrote in his blog, GatesNotes.

Gates said the omicron variant is "concerning" but health researchers are urgently working to learn more about it, and the world will have more information, such as the effectiveness of vaccines and previous infections.

"It’s troubling any time a new variant of concern emerges, but I’m still hopeful that, at some point next year, COVID-19 will become an endemic disease in most places," he wrote. "Although it is currently about 10 times more lethal than flu, vaccines and antivirals could cut that number by half or more."