That’s a lot of S’s. Plus, it’s Saturday!

Happening in the World: Population-level data from Israel shows that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 94% effective at stopping outright infection, even asymptomatic cases. Additionally, the vast majority of cases in Israel are caused by the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant, which originated in the United Kingdom. This shows that the Pfizer vaccine is tremendously effective against this widespread variant. (NBC)

Happening in the US: The Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loans to businesses with fewer than 500 employees, is set to stop accepting new applications on March 31, despite a $7.25B infusion from the American Rescue Plan. Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Susan Collins, (R-ME), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have co-sponsored a bill to extend the deadline to May 31. (USA Today)

Happening in NYC: On Thursday, the MTA reported its highest single-day ridership total since the pandemic began. 1.86 million passengers rode the subway, small potatoes compared to the five million average weekday riders before the pandemic but a large improvement since the MTA’s all-time low of 300,000 last April. This increase in ridership, combined with an injection of funds through the American Rescue Plan, are helping to maintain the MTA’s financial solvency throughout the pandemic-induced economic downturn. (PIX 11 News)

Happening in Our Community: Ronald Suny, author of a biography of Joseph Stalin titled Stalin: Passage to Revolution, will be hosting a Q&A about the book this Monday from 12 to 1:45 pm EST. Sign up here. 

nyoooooooooooom via Bwog Archives