Scott Hensley
Scott Hensley edits stories about health, biomedical research and pharmaceuticals for NPR's Science desk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has led the desk's reporting on the development of vaccines against the coronavirus.
Hensley has worked on award-winning investigations in collaboration with journalistic partners.
He was the lead NPR editor on an investigation with the Center for Public Integrity in 2018 that exposed drug industry influence on the choices of preferred medicines by Medicaid programs. The work won the 2019 Gerald Loeb Award for audio reporting.
In 2017, Hensley was the lead NPR editor on an investigation with Kaiser Health News that showed how the pharmaceutical industry exploits government incentives intended to encourage the development of treatments for rare diseases. The stories won the 2019 digital award from the National Institute for Health Care Management.
Hensley has been editing in his current role since 2019. He joined NPR in 2009 to launch Shots, a blog that expanded to become a digital destination for NPR health coverage.
Before NPR, Hensley was a reporter and editor at The Wall Street Journal. He was the founding editor of The Wall Street Journal Health Blog, which focused on the intersection of health and business. As a reporter, he covered the drug industry and the Human Genome Project.
Hensley served on the board of the Association of Health Care Journalists from 2012 to 2020.
He has a bachelor's degree in natural sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a master's in journalism from Columbia University.
Before becoming a journalist, Hensley worked in the medical device industry. He remains, now and forever, a lover of Dobermans, lacrosse and Callinectes sapidus.
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Watch an expert panel discuss the latest developments and challenges in the COVID-19 pandemic livestreamed at noon ET on Friday. -
The approval replaces the emergency use authorizations granted last December and could make it easier for employers, the military and universities to mandate vaccination. -
This is the first new drug approved for Alzheimer's disease since 2003. It's the first to show significant progress against the sticky brain plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. -
The vaccine did better at preventing disease in the U.S. – 72% — and less well in South Africa – 57% efficacy. The efficacy seen in Latin America was 66%. -
Novavax says its COVID-19 vaccine is 89% effective at preventing illness, according to an interim analysis of a U.K. study. But the vaccine wasn't as effective against some viral variants. -
Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted 20-0 to recommend that the agency authorize Moderna's vaccine for emergency use during the pandemic. There was a single abstention. -
In a 17-4 vote, an expert committee concluded that the scientific evidence supports the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency use during the pandemic.
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How do Americans experience and cope with pain that makes everyday life harder? We asked in the latest NPR-IBM Watson Health Poll. -
The latest NPR-IBM Watson Health poll found that 29% of people said they were often angry when checking the news. Another 42% said the news sometimes made them angry. -
The latest NPR-IBM Watson Health Poll finds that medical visits for symptoms of infections are common and that many people get an antibiotic under those circumstances. But a talk is in order first. -
A third of people under 35 said cost led them to put off some form of health care, compared with only 8 percent of people 65 and older, a poll by NPR and IBM Watson Health found. -
While a majority of Americans know about naloxone, there is confusion about the fact that in most places a prescription isn't required to obtain the emergency overdose treatment.
