Dr. Anthony Fauci said it is an “open question” if the omicron variant of the Chinese coronavirus marks the final wave of the pandemic, making the remark during a virtual appearance at The Davos Agenda event.

“It is an open question whether it will be the live virus vaccination that everyone is hoping for,” the White House chief medical adviser said.

“I would hope that that’s the case. But that would only be the case if we don’t get another variant that eludes the immune response of the prior variant,” he continued, reiterating that the virus will not be eradicated altogether.

“Control means you have it present but it is present at a level that does not disrupt society,” Fauci said. “That’s my definition of what endemicity would mean.”

It remains unclear, however, if federal health officials are willing to revert to a state of pre-pandemic normalcy, living with a virus without reintroducing restrictions such as mask and vaccine mandates, which they have been gleefully doing over the past year.

“It’s not going to be that you’ll eliminate this disease completely. But hopefully, it will be at such a low level that it doesn’t disrupt our normal social, economic and other interactions with each other. To me, that’s what the new normal is,” Fauci continued.

His remarks come nearly two years after the start of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, as some areas continue to reintroduce mask mandates and attempt to force Americans to get vaccinated.

Even though public health officials originally pitched vaccines as a key way to return to a state of pre-pandemic normalcy, public health officials are continuing to encourage them, even for fully vaccinated individuals.

On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated mask guidance, urging people to “wear a mask with the best fit, protect, and comfort for you,” recommending N95s, KN95s, disposable masks, and cloth masks: