Thumbs Up for Vax Mixing; New Lockdowns Over Delta; Juul Settles for $40M

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Preliminary research found that mixing doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines produced high levels of antibodies and immune cells. (New York Times)

In a Gallup poll, 29% of Americans said the pandemic was over, while 40% said they don’t expect their lives will ever be normal again.

As of Tuesday at 8 a.m. EDT, the unofficial U.S. COVID-19 toll reached 33,641,386 cases and 604,152 deaths, up 15,767 and 185, respectively, from this time yesterday.

Contact tracers in the U.S. are back at it again, hoping this time to contain the Delta variant. (Wall Street Journal)

As the highly transmissible variant continues to spread in the U.S., some states are rethinking precaution measures, even for people who are fully vaccinated. (CNN)

Los Angeles County public health officials are done rethinking and encouraged all residents to wear masks indoors in public — even the fully vaccinated. (Los Angeles Times)

Four major cities in Australia went into lockdown in an attempt to quash new outbreaks of the Delta variant, while Hong Kong halted all passenger flights from the U.K. to prevent the spread. (CNN, AP)

Here’s why researchers don’t know whether the Delta variant is more deadly. (The Atlantic)

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced that an outbreak of more than 80 COVID-19 cases was linked to a youth summer camp where few were vaccinated and mask wearing was limited.

The high price tag of aducanumab (Aduhelm), the newly approved Alzheimer’s drug, may force Medicare to restrict coverage. (Wall Street Journal)

Meanwhile, the FDA granted pre-market approval to Impella RP with SmartAssist as a safe and effective treatment for acute right heart failure, Abiomed announced.

Juul Labs will cough up a $40 million settlement to the state of North Carolina over claims that its marketing practices led to widespread nicotine addiction among teens using e-cigarettes. (Raleigh News & Observer)

A nursing student from Paraguay who came to the U.S. to help pay for her education is unaccounted for and among the possible victims following the Champlain Towers collapse in Florida. (Washington Post)

Teva, drug distributor McKesson, and other companies go on trial today in New York state over their roles in the opioid crisis. (Reuters)

In a phase II/III trial, nirsevimab was safe and tolerable for infants at high risk of respiratory syncytial virus, AstraZeneca announced.

Portland reached a temperature of 115° F on Monday, breaking records for the third day in a row. (Oregon Live)

Halfway through the WNBA season — with nearly every player vaccinated — there have been zero COVID-19 infections. (NBC News)