Rob Stein
Rob Stein is a correspondent and senior editor on NPR's science desk.
An award-winning science journalist with more than 30 years of experience, Stein mostly covers health and medicine. He tends to focus on stories that illustrate the intersection of science, health, politics, social trends, ethics, and federal science policy. He tracks genetics, stem cells, cancer research, women's health issues, and other science, medical, and health policy news.
Before NPR, Stein worked at The Washington Post for 16 years, first as the newspaper's science editor and then as a national health reporter. Earlier in his career, Stein spent about four years as an editor at NPR's science desk. Before that, he was a science reporter for United Press International (UPI) in Boston and the science editor of the international wire service in Washington.
Stein's work has been honored by many organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Association of Health Care Journalists. He was twice part of NPR teams that won Peabody Awards.
Stein frequently represents NPR, speaking at universities, international meetings and other venues, including the University of Cambridge in Britain, the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea, and the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.
Stein is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He completed a journalism fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health, a program in science and religion at the University of Cambridge, and a summer science writer's workshop at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.
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The first case of the omicron variant has been identified in the United States. The case occurred in a traveler who recently returned to California from a trip to South Africa.
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Public health experts worry confusion about boosters may hamper vaccine efforts, breakthrough cases aren't being monitored, and more testing and genetic sequencing is needed to track the new variant.
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By the end of the week, the Food and Drug Administration is poised to authorize the Pfizer booster for anyone age 18 and older, who is already vaccinated.
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Scientists have begun to find abnormalities in the immune systems of some long-COVID patients that might help explain the syndrome, at least in some people. But there is still much more to learn.
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The number of people getting boosters every day in the U.S. is more than double the number of people getting their first shot, a win for Biden's booster plan but a loss for greater vaccination goals.
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The centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues recommendations for how to mix-and-match COVID-19 boosters — marking the final step for making boosters widely available.
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After the FDA weighed in, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meet Thursday to refine guidelines for boosters for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
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The Food and Drug Administration and the Center For Disease Control and Prevention are poised to sign-off on Johnson & Johnson and Moderna booster shots this week.
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FDA advisers vote unanimously on recommending that the agency authorize Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine boosters. The agency will consider Johnson & Johnson's booster authorization request on Friday.
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The long-awaited study finds that people who got the J&J vaccine would benefit more from getting a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine as their booster instead of another J&J shot.
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Should people who get a COVID booster get a different vaccine from their original shot? The results of a highly anticipated study suggest that in some cases the answer may be yes.
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The Food and Drug Administration has released the evidence that Moderna and Johnson & Johnson tried to win authorization for boosters the agency weighs Merck's request for a drug to treat COVID-19.