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Over the objection of three justices, the Supreme Court on Thursday left in place New York’s coronavirus vaccine requirement for health-care workers that drew a challenge over its lack of a religious exemption. The court’s order came on the final day of its term, as the justices also announced their final decisions and what additional cases they will review when the court reconvenes in October. (Marimow and Barnes, 6/30)

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas suggested Thursday in a dissenting opinion that coronavirus vaccines were developed using cells from "aborted children." ... No coronavirus vaccine in the U.S. contains the cells of aborted fetuses. (Gonzalez, 6/30)

At midnight on Thursday, tens of thousands of National Guard troops who have yet to prove they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus will be in violation of a direct order mandating their compliance. As a result, they will no longer be able to drill with their units until they provide proof that they have been vaccinated or have received an exemption approved by military leaders. (Ismay, Medina and Kannapell, 7/1)

The Minnesota National Guard could lose hundreds of soldiers if they don’t get vaccinated against COVID-19 immediately. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that the U.S. Department of Defense’s deadline for getting shots is Thursday. More than 95% of the Minnesota National Guard’s 13,000 members have been vaccinated but according to the percentages military officials provided that leaves more than 600 members who could face dismissal. (6/30)

The head of the State Police has informed troopers fired for failing to get COVID shots that their permits to carry firearms will be “expired” as of next week. ... Thirteen troopers were discharged by the State Police after the height of the pandemic for failing to get a mandatory vaccine against COVID-19. It is unclear if all of the officers dismissed have received a letter, but the Herald was told that most have. (Medsger, 6/30)

The city of Pittsburgh is threatening to fire dozens of police officers who have not been vaccinated for COVID-19. The city and the police union had been negotiating this issue for months. Back in January, the police union said 40% of its officers were not vaccinated and requested religious or medical exemptions. The union filed a grievance and unfair labor practices. (6/29)

It’s a routine step when someone files a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan: The case is randomly assigned to a judge. But what happened recently in a case brought by New York City teachers and other educational workers seeking to block a coronavirus vaccine requirement has been anything but routine. Over two weeks, the teachers’ lawyers have asked three successive judges assigned to the case to recuse themselves and have it reassigned. The lawyers cited financial disclosure forms, listing each judge as owning thousands of dollars of stock in Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers, whose share price, they argued, could be helped or hurt by their rulings. (Weiser, 7/1)