Caroline Chen
Caroline Chen was a national reporter for ProPublica covering health care.
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Caroline Chen previously covered health care for ProPublica. She has written about public health, hospitals, drugmakers and clinical trials, highlighting disparities in patient access, broken funding models and abuses of power.
Her 2020 coverage of the coronavirus pandemic included investigations into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s early failures to contain the outbreak, vaccine inequities and distortion of COVID-19 data. Her work was part of ProPublica’s coverage recognized as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service.
Her 2019 stories on a heart transplant program in New Jersey that prioritized metrics over patient care won the Livingston Award for local reporting. Her story on racial disparities in cancer clinical trials with Riley Wong in 2018 won the June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism in online/multimedia reporting.
Her writing has appeared in publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine and NPR. Previously, she worked at Bloomberg News, where her coverage included the unraveling of blood test maker Theranos and the 2014 Ebola outbreak. She received her master’s degree from the Toni Stabile Program for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University, where she was awarded a Pulitzer traveling fellowship.
They Set Out to Save Rainforests — and Could Help Prevent the Next Outbreak
In Madagascar, an innovative nonprofit is showing the world a new way to prevent outbreaks caused by deforestation. Many funders can’t wrap their heads around it.
The Next Deadly Pandemic Is Just a Forest Clearing Away
Returning to the starting point of the world’s worst Ebola outbreak reveals how the global community failed the people of Meliandou, Guinea — and the many ways we’re not doing enough to prevent the next virus from jumping species and taking off.
What’s Holding Up the COVID Vaccines for Children Under 5?
For months, parents have been told COVID vaccines for their little ones are coming. But opaque communication from the FDA, shifting timelines, delays and misinformation have left parents frustrated and confused. Here’s everything we know at the moment.
What ProPublica Is Doing About Diversity in 2022
Here is our annual report on the breakdown of our staff and how we’re working to create a more diverse news organization and inclusive journalism community.
I Saw Firsthand What It Takes to Keep COVID Out of Hong Kong. It Felt Like a Different Planet.
On a visit to Hong Kong, ProPublica reporter Caroline Chen encountered a 21-day quarantine, a bevy of COVID tests, universal masking and, finally, a fear-free family holiday.
One Major Reason the U.S. Hasn’t Stopped Syphilis From Killing Babies
In reporting on the rising number of newborns needlessly dying of syphilis, ProPublica reporter Caroline Chen identified a contributing factor: the CDC’s funding structure, which is influenced by both politics and shifts in public attention.
Babies Are Dying of Syphilis. It’s 100% Preventable.
The United States’ inability to curb a treatable sexually transmitted disease shows the failures of a cash-strapped public health system. Increasingly, newborns are paying the price.
A Tiny Number of People Will Be Hospitalized Despite Being Vaccinated. We Have to Learn Why.
Experts say we should investigate “breakthrough infections” to look out for variants and understand who’s vulnerable. In many cases, that’s not happening. Crucial pieces of the puzzle are being tossed in the trash.
Barreras falsas: estas cosas no deberían impedirle vacunarse contra COVID-19
Se supone que las vacunas contra el coronavirus son gratuitas y están disponibles para todos en Estados Unidos, independientemente de su seguro o de su situación migratoria. Para algunos, no ha sido así.
False Barriers: These Things Should Not Prevent You From Getting a COVID Vaccine
Vaccinations for the coronavirus are supposed to be free and available to all Americans regardless of insurance or immigration status. For some, that isn’t how it has been playing out. Here are common false barriers to look out for.