Cases surge in new COVID hot spots of Michigan, Minnesota Hospitals in Michigan and Minnesota on Tuesday reported a wave of COVID-19 patients not seen in months as beds were filled with unvaccinated people and health care leaders warned that staff were being worn down by yet another surge. AP NEWS

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GOP-majority court chosen to consider Biden vaccine mandate Challenges to President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers will be consolidated in the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, a panel dominated by judges appointed by Republicans. AP NEWS

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The Cincinnati-based court was selected Tuesday in a random drawing using ping-pong balls, a process employed when challenges to certain federal agency actions are filed in multiple courts.

CDC to probe massive flu outbreak at the University of Michigan Most of the flu cases have occurred in unvaccinated individuals. Nicoletta Lanese livescience.com

A sudden surge of influenza cases on the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus has drawn the attention of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has now deployed a team of experts to investigate the outbreak.

AMA Delegates Target Naturopaths Who Write Vaccine Exemptions Other proposals focused on minimum wage, access to menstrual care products, and looming pay cuts Cheryl Clark medpagetoday

CHICAGO -- Non-medically trained providers such as naturopaths, homeopaths, and other alternative medicine providers are allowed to write vaccine exemptions in some states, a "loophole" that some American Medical Association (AMA) delegates adamantly say their organization should work to close.

Courts, local government ease COVID restrictions in Florida ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A local government and courts in Florida are easing up on COVID-19 restrictions as the state's virus caseload has declined in recent weeks. Starting Monday, wearing face masks and social distancing became optional in Florida's courthouses. AP NEWS

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In an order, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady cited the fact that almost 70% of eligible Florida residents were fully vaccinated and the number of cases in the state has dropped sharply. ...

New England Covid cases rise as delta hits the unvaccinated Covid case counts are up in every state in New England except for Connecticut, a stark reminder that unvaccinated people continue to face a serious risk from the delta variant. NBC News

New England is not out of the woods just yet.

Pfizer signs license agreement to allow broader global access to its experimental Covid-19 antiviral pill Pfizer said Tuesday it signed a licensing agreement to allow broader global access to its experimental Covid-19 pill. Amanda Sealy, CNN CNN

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8 lingering questions about the new Covid pills from Merck and Pfizer The new Covid pills from Merck and Pfizer offer a ton of promise. But there’s plenty we still don’t know about how well they work. Erin Mershon STAT

The past two months have brought extremely good news in the fight against Covid-19. Two different oral treatments have proved effective at both preventing people newly diagnosed with Covid-19 from entering the hospital and from dying.