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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Two days before a panel of experts is set to review Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and advise the Food and Drug Administration, documents show the vaccine is 94% effective and well-tolerated. -
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. -
The Food and Drug Administration finds "no specific safety concerns" that would stand in the way of authorization of the vaccine for emergency use. Effectiveness is 95% after two doses. -
Watch an expert panel discussion on the effort to develop and deploy safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 on Friday, Nov. 20, to be live-streamed here at 12 p.m. ET
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The president, who is being treated for COVID-19, has been downplaying the severity of the disease. He said falsely that, compared with the flu, COVID-19 is "in most populations far less lethal." -
The Federal Reserve on Monday announced several policies designed to strengthen markets during the coronavirus crisis. Still, stocks are down, minutes after the opening bell.
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A surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Gawande is probably best known for his work writing about how to improve quality and lower costs in health care. -
Details are scarce, but the companies said they want to help their employees get high-quality health care at a reasonable cost. Will this consortium have better luck than those that have preceded it?
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A July letter from Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini to the Justice Department said the company would pull back from health insurance exchanges if the government opposed the company's merger with Humana. -
Among the quarter of American adults who have had a concussion, most said they had sought medical treatment, according to the results of a poll conducted by NPR and Truven Health Analytics.
