University Vax Mandate Upheld; Canada Opens Its Border; India’s True Death Toll

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A federal judge ruled that Indiana University can require COVID-19 vaccination, rejecting a challenge from students who argued the mandate was unconstitutional. (Washington Post)

The State Department and CDC issued a more severe warning against travel to the U.K. (Reuters)

Canada announced that it will start allowing fully vaccinated U.S. citizens to enter the country next month, and people from the rest of the world in early September. (AP)

As of Tuesday at 8 a.m. EDT, the estimated COVID-19 toll in the U.S. was 34,133,835 cases and 609,268 deaths, up 52,945 and 247, respectively, from this time yesterday.

“Facebook isn’t killing people,” said President Joe Biden, walking back earlier criticism of the social media giant, but stated that he wished the site did more to curb COVID-19 falsehoods. (The Hill)

Meanwhile, Twitter temporarily suspended Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. (CNN)

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) tested positive for COVID-19, although he stated that he is fully vaccinated. (Politico)

Following a meeting with Texas state House Democrats — several of whom tested positive for COVID-19 — Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative for the virus. (CNN)

HHS allocated $103 million to reduce burnout among healthcare workers. (Healthcare Dive)

The U.K. announced that it will not offer COVID-19 vaccinations to all children, offering the jab only in specific circumstances, such as for those with underlying health conditions. (Reuters)

Communities suing Johnson & Johnson and the nation’s three largest opioid distributors are expected to announce their plan to move forward with a $26 billion settlement later this week. (Bloomberg)

In other opioid news, the U.S. Justice Department said it had “fundamental concerns” over Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan. (ABC News)

Sanofi announced FDA approval of fexinidazole as the first completely oral treatment for both stages of the Trypanosoma brucei gambiense form of sleeping sickness in patients 6 years and up.

Southeast Asian countries — including Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand — are struggling to combat the third wave of the pandemic, as the Delta variant takes hold throughout the region. (NPR)

India’s true COVID-19 death toll is estimated to be between 3 and 4.7 million, according to a new study — potentially 10 times higher than the official count. (AP)

Paul Auerbach, MD, an emergency physician who developed the field of wilderness medicine in the 1970s, died of brain cancer. (New York Times)