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Matthew Herper
@matthewherper
Writing and events at STAT. This is biology's century; Every data point has a face. ‘21 Polk Award. Signal: MattHerper.92
Undisclosed.
statnews.com/staff/matthew-…
Joined June 2009
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  • user avatar
    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Jan 7, 2024
    The 140 character limit was a feature, not a bug.
    user avatar
    Bill Ackman
    @BillAckman
    Jan 7, 2024
    Last night, no one at @MIT had a good night’s sleep. Yesterday evening, shortly after I posted that we were launching a plagiarism review of all current MIT faculty, President Kornbluth, members of MIT’s administration, and its board, I am sure that an audible collective gasp
    268K
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Oct 12, 2025
    I just want to emphasize: This is not normal. This is unprecedented. And it is chaos. This morning my colleagues -- who are working quite hard -- reported that the White House had decimated CDC offices related to injury prevention, respiratory disease surveillance, and chronic
    CDC battered by government shutdown firings, while some are rescinded
    From statnews.com
    154K
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Dec 7, 2018
    Some personal news. After 18.5 amazing years at Forbes, I am leaving. In January, I’ll start as Senior Writer, Medicine at @statnews.
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Jun 12, 2020
    Eleven years ago I started writing about how HPV causes head and neck cancer. Lots of it. Thousands of cases every year. Two of the patients I wrote about during this time died. Tonight the FDA approved Gardasil to prevent head and neck cancer.
    FDA approves Gardasil 9, the HPV vaccine, to prevent head-and-neck cancer
    From statnews.com
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    May 10, 2021
    Fact check: No evidence 2-year-old died after getting COVID-19 vaccine
    Fact check: No evidence that a 2-year-old died after getting Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
    From usatoday.com
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    May 2, 2024
    Orangutan used medicinal plant to treat wound, first time ever seen
    Scientists spot an orangutan using a plant to treat his own wound in the wild
    From statnews.com
    231K
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Nov 9, 2020
    The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine showed 90% efficacy. For biotech folks: Interim was done at 94 cases, not 32. There are questions. But this is hope.
    Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is strongly effective, early data from large trial...
    From statnews.com
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Apr 1, 2025
    The entire STAT staff is updating this story about layoffs at HHS. There will be a lot of info. But the short version is this: a lot of the people who would keep drugs safe and effective, to protect patients in trials, and to fight bird flu and future pandemics are gone -- even
    HHS starts layoffs of thousands of workers across its agencies
    From statnews.com
    109K
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Nov 3, 2022
    A big one. I've been saying for a decade: "This is biology's century." And we're still not ready. My editors asked me to explain what that means. It was harder than I expected. I hope you like reading it.
    Here’s why we’re not prepared for the next wave of biotech innovation
    From statnews.com
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Jul 6, 2020
    This morning, we're releasing a look at all the clinical trials against #COVID19. One big conclusion: we've spent a lot of resources on #Hydroxychloroquine, probably too much. statnews.com/2020/07/06/dat… You see that Jupiter-sized orb towering above all those other planets?
  • user avatar
    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Oct 8, 2022
    “I mean seriously, in an age when we fly by Pluto and send Jimmy Carter’s metastatic melanoma into remission, how is it we cannot figure out how to hire and promote female professors of chemistry?” ⁦@CarolynBertozzi⁩ via ⁦@lisamjarvis⁩
    Chemistry Nobel Winner Wants an Overdue Shake-Up of Her Field
    From bloomberg.com
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    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Dec 13, 2022
    We knew Merck saw something when they paid $250 million... Moderna cancer vaccine reduces melanoma’s return by 44% $MRNA
    statnews.com
    Moderna says cancer vaccine reduces melanoma’s return by 44%
    New data offers the first evidence of an effective individualized cancer vaccine based on mRNA, the technology used in the Covid shots.
  • user avatar
    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Jul 12, 2020
    Why aren’t we funding the development of COVID rapid tests the way we are vaccines?
  • user avatar
    Matthew Herper
    @matthewherper
    Jan 8, 2021
    Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation in new coronavirus variants -study. news.trust.org/item/202101080…