1. South Africa identifies new COVID-19 variant — 8 notes Full story

2. Unvaccinated Americans shouldn't travel for Labor Day, all Americans should wear masks indoors: CDC Full story

3. No ivermectin for COVID-19, emergency physicians warn Full story

4. Elective surgery pauses are back. See how Spectrum, St Michael’s Ambulatory Surgery are managing backlogs and preparing for future disruptions here.

5. Idaho hospitals will get staffing boost to avoid crisis standards of care Full story

6. 955,000 adults have already gotten booster shot, CDC says Full story

7. Patients demand the highest quality and best outcomes. Click here to join ASC experts leading the way.

8. Lifespan hospital nurses petition execs for pay bump Full story

9. Montana State University gets record $101M donation for nursing school Full story

10. COVID-19 patients 16x more likely to develop myocarditis: CDC Full story

11. Is your hospital's lung cancer screening up to par? Join this discussion for the key components of a successful program. 

12. Nurse anesthetist salary by state — Oregon is No. 1 at $236,540 Full story

13. 14 vaccine mandate protests at hospitals in August Full story

14. Daily COVID-19 stats, state-by-state:

• Test positivity rates 
• Vaccines administered
• Percentage of population vaccinated
• Hospitalizations
• Death rates

Becker's Learning Opportunities

1. Don't let bills scare patients. Read how Banner, Methodist and others apply a healing touch to their billing.

2. Still trying to unify your ambulatory footprint and cut variation? Adventist, Banner and CoxHealth share 3 key integration tips here. 

3. How are providers combatting healthcare’s affordability crisis? Check out these 11 must-reads.