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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Hungarian-born biochemist Katalin Karikó and American immunologist Drew Weissman found that a chemical change to genetic code called mRNA eliminated a problematic side effect when used in vaccines. -
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 Food and Drug Administration gave Johnson & Johnson's vaccine the green light for emergency use Saturday, a day after a panel of advisers to the agency endorsed it in a unanimous vote. -
The Food and Drug Administration typically follows the advice of its expert advisers. A quick agency decision on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected given the state of the pandemic. -
The Food and Drug Administration released an analysis of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday morning that appears to support its authorization for emergency use. -
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%. -
As the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines unfolds in the U.S., numerous questions around distribution, supply, hesitancy and efficacy persist. Experts from Harvard and the CDC tackle these questions. -
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. -
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.
