WASHINGTON - New Zealand began inoculating 5- to11-year-old children Monday with Pfizer's pediatric COVID vaccine. More than 120,000 vaccines have been delivered to 500 vaccination centers around the country, the health ministry said.

"Getting vaccinated now is a great way to help protect tamariki (children) before they go back to school," Dr. Anthony Jordan, Auckland's COVID-19 vaccination program clinical director, said in a statement. "The evidence shows that while children may have milder symptoms, some will still get very sick and end up in hospital if they do get COVID-19. Getting vaccinated also helps to prevent them from passing it on to vulnerable family members," he added.

The omicron surge has not yet peaked in the U.S., Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, warned Sunday on CNN's State of the Union. "The next few weeks could be tough," he cautioned, but noted that there has been a drop in cases in some locations, including New York and New Jersey.

The new self-isolation period for people with COVID in England has been reduced from ten days to five full days. The new measure went into effect Monday.

"This is a balanced and proportionate approach to restore extra freedoms and reduce the pressure on essential public services over the winter," Health Secretary Sajid Javid said. "It is crucial people only stop self-isolating after two negative tests to ensure you are not infectious."

The Credit Suisse Group, a Switzerland-based global investment bank, has announced the resignation of its chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio, after an investigation revealed that Horta-Osorio had violated COVID-19 protocols, including attending Wimbledon tennis tournament finals in London in July.

"I regret that a number of my personal actions have led to difficulties for the bank and compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and externally," Horta-Osorio said in a statement on the Credit Suisse's website.

UNICEF's executive director said Saturday's shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccines to Rwanda "included the billionth dose supplied to COVAX." Henrietta Fore said, "With so many people yet to be offered a single dose, we know we have much more to do."

COVAX is the international alliance working to ensure that equitable allotment of COVID-19 vaccines to low- and medium-income countries.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Monday that it has recorded 328.1 million global COVID-19 infections and 5.5 million deaths. The center said 9.7 billion vaccines have been administered.

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