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 and a .
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 .
She won a in 2015 for creating a video called "," and a 2014 for producing a series on .
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, , and went on to study documentary radio at the , before coming to NPR as an intern in 2009.
She lives in Washington, DC, with her spouse and kids.
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Senators grilled Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccines, abortion and Medicaid in his confirmation hearing to lead HHS. RFK Jr. has another hearing Thursday. -
A new analysis of private insurance claims data finds less than 0.1% of youth accessed puberty blockers or hormones for gender transition. This small group has garnered a huge amount of attention from Republican lawmakers in recent years. -
Three years ago, the emergency declaration enabled certain tools for fighting the pandemic and protecting Americans. Now that it's expiring, here's what is changing 鈥� and what's not. -
Public health officials want more Americans to get the latest COVID vaccine booster. Only 35% of people over 65 have gotten the shot, though 75% of COVID deaths are among people in this age group. -
Americans' life expectancy dropped for the second year in a row and is the biggest drop since the 1920s. COVID-19 is driving the downward trend, according to CDC data. -
Physicians must treat in line with patients' wishes and standards of care. Some medical ethicists say that abortion bans will force doctors to disregard these obligations in order to follow the law. -
HIV remains a problem in the U.S. because people don't use life-saving prevention and treatments. COVID is heading down the same path. Here are insights from people fighting on the frontlines of HIV. -
The first big hurdle was crossed when Pfizer shared its clinical trial data with the FDA. Now there are five more steps to get through before this vulnerable population can be vaccinated. -
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held only two telebriefings in 2021. That lack of transparency has prompted criticism 鈥� and a pledge from director Dr. Rochelle Walensky to be more open. -
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.
