The hope that 2022 would be a year of recovery for the United States and the global economy seems to be sinking as the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus may restrain economic activity worldwide. As soon as news about Omicron was announced, markets were hit hard from all directions. Major stock market indexes tumbled, with crude oil prices and Treasury yields reporting big declines. Meanwhile, vaccine makers made big wins, with Moderna (Nasdaq:MRNA), BioNTech (Nasdaq:BNTX), and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) seeing share price increases. This may be short-lived, though, because the vaccine makers are expected to evaluate if Omicron is resistant to their current vaccines. Until this is determined, the market growth of COVID-19 vaccines is also in limbo and may take a hit if the vaccines’ effectiveness against Omicron turns out to be lower than expected. Pfizer has said that if needed, the company can produce and ship a new …