Yuki Noguchi
Yuki Noguchi is a correspondent on the Science Desk based out of NPR's headquarters in Washington, D.C. She started covering consumer health in the midst of the pandemic, reporting on everything from vaccination and racial inequities in access to health, to cancer care, obesity and mental health.
Since joining NPR in 2008, Noguchi has also covered a range of business and economic news, with a special focus on the workplace — anything that affects how and why we work. In recent years, she has covered the rise of the contract workforce, the #MeToo movement, the Great Recession and the subprime housing crisis. In 2011, she covered the earthquake and tsunami in her parents' native Japan. Her coverage of the impact of opioids on workers and their families won a 2019 Gracie Award and received First Place and Best In Show in the radio category from the National Headliner Awards. She also loves featuring offbeat topics, and has eaten insects in service of journalism.
Noguchi started her career as a reporter, then an editor, for The Washington Post.
Noguchi grew up in St. Louis, inflicts her cooking on her two boys and has a degree in history from Yale.
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Hospitals are in dire need of nurses. There's often 800 people applying to community college nursing programs offering 50 slots. One main reason is that there aren't enough people to teach nursing.
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New poll data shows that while a large majority of those using telehealth during the pandemic were satisfied, nearly two-thirds prefer in-person visits, in an indicator of the future of telehealth.
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A report based on new CDC data showed 16 states now report obesity rates of 35% or higher. That increased by four states in just a year. And those rates are rising faster among racial minorities.
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The pandemic has been a challenge to the mental health of many doctors and nurses. Researchers who study the condition of burnout say it's a workplace issue with often simple workplace solutions.
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The pandemic has left doctors, nurses and other health workers exhausted and overwhelmed. But drawing a direct line between burnout and a bad patient outcome isn't easy to do.
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With online schooling and missed doctor appointments, vaccinations for things like measles are off by as much as 18% from pre-pandemic levels — raising the prospect of outbreaks of old diseases.
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Divisions over vaccination are making it harder for employers to ensure their workplaces are safe. Some are asking their employees to "attest" to being vaccinated — but do such honor systems work?
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As the Delta variant spreads, stakes are even higher for employers managing workplace divisions over vaccine and changing mask guidelines.
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The spread of the Delta variant is renewing pressure on private employers to encourage their workers to get vaccinated. Most aren't yet because of morale, political divisions and a tight labor market.
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At the height of the pandemic, routine cancer screenings declined by 90%. Screenings have resumed and doctors are diagnosing later-stage cancers — things that might have been caught earlier.