Axios

An Illinois judge paused a vaccination requirement for the Chicago Police Department (CPD) until a lawsuit between the department and its union is settled, CNN reports.

Driving the news: The local Fraternal Order of Police lodge says they were negotiating CPD's COVID-19 policy when the department implemented "unilateral changes" per CNN.

The Supreme Court on Monday seemed likely to let legal challenges to Texas' near-total abortion ban proceed.

Why it matters: A majority of the justices — including two Trump nominees, Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — seemed concerned with the way Texas has tried to evade legal challenges in federal courts.

About 9,000 New York City workers were put on unpaid leave for refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday.

Driving the news: New York City's vaccine mandate for all city employees went into effect on Monday. The 9,000 holdouts represent a fraction of the city's 400,000 employees.

The rate of uninsured Americans in 2020 remained relatively stable — between 8.6% and 9.7% — despite pandemic-related job losses and other economic challenges, according to data released by HHS.

The big picture: Biden administration officials released the numbers just ahead of the start of open enrollment in the federal health insurance marketplaces today as evidence of the Affordable Care Act's impact.

The global toll of confirmed deaths from the coronavirus surpassed 5 million on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Why it matters: The first known death from COVID-19 was announced on Jan. 11, 2020, in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began. Nearly two years later, the U.S. tops the globe with 745,836 deaths. Brazil follows with 607,824.

From medications to gloves to crutches, the strains of the global supply chain are hitting U.S. health care hard.

Why it matters: Shortages of health care supplies can quickly jump from a nuisance to a life-or-death proposition. They indicate serious vulnerabilities in the U.S. health care supply chain.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that delaying the establishment of vaccine mandate deadlines until after the holidays would be a "big mistake."

Why it matters: In September, the Biden administration announced it would be working with the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to require vaccinations or once-a-week testing for companies with more than 100 employees.

Moderna said Sunday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is delaying a decision on approving the emergency use of the company's coronavirus vaccine for children ages 12 to 17.

Driving the news: The FDA informed Moderna that it is evaluating the risk of myocarditis, a condition affecting the wall of the heart, after vaccination, per the release.

The second COVID-era Halloween is upon us, but the festivities look set to be much closer to business as usual across much of America after 2020's disruption.

Why it matters: While the holiday is coming just before kids are set to be vaccinated, trick-or-treaters look set to be out in (almost) full force.