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.
-
Scientists are projecting the surge will peak in January. Just how massive it could be depends on how quickly Americans get boosted and change behavior to slow the spread. -
First projections of the variant's impact find a range of possibilities, from just a relatively small acceleration of the current trajectory to a big new wave that could rival last winter's surge.
-
The Moderna vaccine's ability to shield against infection drops sharply when tested on the omicron variant. But getting a booster pumps the protection back up again, new research suggests. -
The coronavirus has now killed more than 800,000 people in the U.S., more deaths than any other country has reported. The U.S. also leads the world in diagnosed cases with more than 50 million.
-
President Biden announced his strategy to deal with COVID-19 throughout the winter months, including getting more people vaccinated and stepping up testing for the virus.
-
The first case of the omicron variant has been identified in the United States. The case occurred in a traveler who recently returned to California from a trip to South Africa.
-
What's the U.S. doing to watch out for the omicron variant? Here's the work underway and the challenges that experts say may slow down the country's efforts. -
Public health experts worry confusion about boosters may hamper vaccine efforts, breakthrough cases aren't being monitored, and more testing and genetic sequencing is needed to track the new variant.
-
By the end of the week, the Food and Drug Administration is poised to authorize the Pfizer booster for anyone age 18 and older, who is already vaccinated.
-
The number of people getting boosters every day in the U.S. is more than double the number of people getting their first shot, a win for Biden's booster plan but a loss for greater vaccination goals.
