Selena Simmons-Duffin
Selena Simmons-Duffin reports on health policy for NPR.
She has worked at NPR for ten years as a show editor and producer, with one stopover at WAMU in 2017 as part of a staff exchange. For four months, she reported local Washington, DC, health stories, including a secretive maternity ward closure and a gesundheit machine.
Before coming to All Things Considered in 2016, Simmons-Duffin spent six years on Morning Edition working shifts at all hours and directing the show. She also drove the full length of the U.S.-Mexico border in 2014 for the "Borderland" series.
She won a Gracie Award in 2015 for creating a video called "Talking While Female," and a 2014 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award for producing a series on why you should love your microbes.
Simmons-Duffin attended Stanford University, where she majored in English. She took time off from college to do HIV/AIDS-related work in East Africa. She started out in radio at Stanford's radio station, KZSU, and went on to study documentary radio at the Salt Institute, before coming to NPR as an intern in 2009.
She lives in Washington, DC, with her spouse and kids.
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When he came into office, Biden launched an ambitious seven-point plan for defeating the virus. Here's how experts score his results. -
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held only two telebriefings in 2021. That lack of transparency has prompted criticism — and a pledge from director Dr. Rochelle Walensky to be more open. -
Subtle developmental differences in children whose brains seemed normal at birth underscore the need to follow children long term — a lesson that may be key for babies exposed to COVID-19. -
Nine states have active mask mandates, even as the new variant is quickly moving in on the U.S. Despite their political unpopularity, research shows masks still work and could save lives. -
As he prepares to leave his post of 12 years, Francis Collins reflects on the agency's biomedical advances, the dangers of polarizing medicine and the huge health gaps that still exist in the U.S. -
Scientists may not know for a couple weeks yet how risky the new coronavirus variant will be to public health. But getting out front now about what is known helps dispel misinformation, they say. -
Much is unknown about the omicron variant. Scientists are scrambling to gather information. But with the first case of omicron confirmed in the U.S., public health officials can't afford to be silent.
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Physicians weigh in on what you need to know about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, and how to think about the risks and benefits of vaccinating your kid -
School-aged children are now eligible for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, as CDC director Rochelle Walensky issued the recommendation supporting this version of the vaccine.
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The open enrollment period to buy health insurance on HealthCare.gov starts now and runs through Jan. 15, 2022. Look for more options and expanded subsidies this year — and more help signing up.
