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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Demand for COVID-19 testing is surging, and that includes rapid home antigen tests. Experts say these tests can be very useful, but it's important to know their limitations.
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The company said that when study participants were given a second jab after six months, their antibody levels were nine times higher than they were 28 days after a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
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The Food and Drug Administration has given full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, offering the nation's vaccination campaign a badly needed boost.
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FDA gives full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, a highly anticipated move that could give the nation's vaccination campaign a badly needed boost.
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The latest coronavirus surge is ratcheting up fears about the toll, and intensifying pressure to get more people vaccinated, wearing masks and perhaps start offering booster shots.
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The CDC information dated Thursday gives new details on this variant of the coronavirus and says the agency should "acknowledge that the war has changed." It was first reported by The Washington Post.
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A small Israeli study of vaccinated health care workers found that a handful who got infected developed headaches, muscle pain, fatigue and other symptoms of long COVID that lasted for weeks.
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For the first time, scientists have shown that a new kind of genetic engineering can crash populations of malaria-spreading mosquitoes.
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With the Delta variant fueling a new surge in the U.S., a growing chorus of public health experts are calling for everyone to mask back up, especially indoors, and to use good masks that fit.
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The latest COVID-19 surge is on track to worsen this summer, causing a significant increase in the number of hospitalizations and deaths, according to new research from advisers to the CDC.
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As the delta variant takes over in the U.S., new, localized outbreaks are emerging. Those surges are likely driven by pockets of dangerously low vaccination rates.
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The Pfizer vaccine appears to be waning in terms of preventing any infection or mild disease, but still offers strong protection against severe disease and death, the Israeli Ministry of Health says.