By Joseph Ax and Barbara Goldberg (Reuters) – Two years into the coronavirus pandemic, the United States is confronting another dark winter, with the red-hot Omicron variant threatening to further inflame an already dangerous surge of cases. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have jumped 45% over the last month, and cases have increased 40% to a seven-day average of 123,000 new infections a day, according to a Reuters tally. Pfizer Inc, one of the chief vaccine makers, on Friday predicted the pandemic would last until 2024 and said a lower-dose version of its vaccine for children ages 2 to 4 genera…

Read More