Scott Hensley Scott Hensley edits stories about health, biomedical research and pharmaceuticals for NPR's Science desk.
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Scott Hensley

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Scott Hensley headshot
Heather Won Tesoriero/NPR

Scott Hensley

Senior Health Editor, Science Desk

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.

Story Archive

Tuesday

New COVID-19 vaccines received the backing of a panel of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday. The shots will be available across the country later this week. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

CDC advisers back broad rollout of new COVID boosters

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Thursday

The first vaccine to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, moved a step toward approval by the Food and Drug Administration with positive votes Thursday from a panel of experts. Kateryna Kon/Getty Images/Science Photo Library hide caption

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Kateryna Kon/Getty Images/Science Photo Library

FDA advisers support approval of RSV vaccine to protect infants

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Friday

In a close vote, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended approval of a gene therapy for muscular dystrophy developed by Sarepta Therapeutics. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images hide caption

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Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

FDA advisers narrowly back first gene therapy for muscular dystrophy

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Wednesday

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration supported drugmaker Perrigo's application to sell the oral contraceptive Opill without a prescription. Perrigo hide caption

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Perrigo

Advisers to the FDA back first over-the-counter birth control pill

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Thursday

A nurse prepares a syringe of a COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., in 2022. An advisory committee for the FDA voted Thursday to simplify the country's approach to COVID vaccination. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption

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Rogelio V. Solis/AP

Tuesday

Two new research papers cast doubt on the new COVID booster

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Wednesday

Vials of the newly reformulated COVID-19 vaccine booster are being readied by Pfizer for distribution now that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized the shots for people 12 and older. Pfizer Inc. hide caption

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Pfizer Inc.

Wednesday

A child receives the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Fairfax County Government Center in Annandale, Va., in November 2021. A committee of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended Wednesday that the agency expand authorization of COVID-19 vaccines to children as young as 6-months-old. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Advisers to the FDA back COVID vaccines for the youngest children

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Tuesday

Dr. Stephaun Wallace, who leads the global external relations strategies for the COVID-19 Prevention Network at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, receives his second injection from Dr. Tia Babu during the Novavax vaccine phase 3 clinical trial in February 2021. Karen Ducey/Getty Images hide caption

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Karen Ducey/Getty Images

Advisers to the FDA back Novavax COVID vaccine

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Wednesday

A pop-up clinic inside Los Angeles International Airport offered free vaccinations and boosters for holiday travelers last December. A new round of vaccinations may be needed before next winter. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Advisers to FDA weigh in on updated COVID boosters for the fall

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Tuesday

Friday

A medical worker prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine booster in Hartford, Connecticut, in January. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Monday

A nurse practitioner fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Beaumont Health offices in Southfield, Mich., on Nov. 5. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Thursday

Wednesday

Thursday

Doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine are stacked in boxes at the McKesson facility in Shepherdsville, Ky., on March 1. Pool/Getty Images hide caption

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Pool/Getty Images

Tuesday

A COVID-19 pop-up testing site stands on a Manhattan street in October in New York City. On Tuesday, Pfizer released promising data about a pill to treat COVID-19. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Tuesday

A COVID-19 antiviral pill called molnupiravir from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics is being considered by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use in the coronavirus pandemic. Merck & Co Inc./Handout via Reuters hide caption

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Merck & Co Inc./Handout via Reuters

Friday

Safeway pharmacist Shahrzad Khoobyari administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster shot into the arm of Norman Solomon in San Rafael, Calif., in October. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Friday

Monday

A nurse draw a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine dose from a vial at the Cameron Grove Community Center in Bowie, Md., in late March. Moderna says study data supports use of a half-dose of the vaccine in children 6 to 11. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

Friday

Pharmacist LaChandra McGowan prepares a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic operated by DePaul Community Health in New Orleans in August. Soon, children ages 5 to 11 could be eligible for Pfizer shots. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

Thursday

Wednesday

A health care worker prepares a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a clinic held at the Watts Juneteenth Street Fair in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images