Rachel Roubein

Washington, D.C.

National health-care reporter and author of The Health 202

Education: University of Maryland, BA in journalism

Rachel Roubein is a national health-care reporter for The Washington Post and author of The Health 202, a daily morning newsletter bringing readers inside everything from the health policy battles dominating Capitol Hill to the White House's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. She joined The Post in 2021 after covering health care at Politico, with a focus on Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare. Roubein first started writing about health care at the Carroll County Times, a local newspaper in Maryland, and has since covered health policy at National Journal and The Hill. She has covered the fa
Latest from Rachel Roubein

As bird flu spreads in cows, fractured U.S. response has echoes of early covid

Some officials and experts express frustration that more livestock herds aren’t being tested for avian flu.

April 25, 2024
Dairy cows on an Illinois cattle farm April 9.

Bird flu in humans, explained

Here’s what to know about bird flu, its symptoms and treatment, and its risk to humans and pets.

April 25, 2024
Eggs are cleaned and disinfected in January at the Sunrise Farms processing plant in Petaluma, Calif., which had seen an outbreak of avian flu. (Terry Chea/AP)

Bird flu virus found in grocery milk as officials say supply still safe

The finding does not suggest a threat to human health but indicates the avian flu virus is more widespread among dairy herds than previously thought.

April 23, 2024
Dairy cows in Rockford, Ill., on April 9.

Biden moves to shield patients’ abortion records from GOP threats

Health officials said the rules would protect the privacy of women seeking abortions from GOP prosecutors who have threatened to crack down on the procedure.

April 22, 2024
A patient is accompanied to an abortion procedure at the Acacia Women's Center in Phoenix on April 12. The Biden administration moved Monday to protect the medical records of abortion patients and their providers.

Why the WHO’s chief scientist is concerned about bird flu

There are still major unknowns about the virus. For one, it’s not yet clear exactly how the virus has been transmitted among dairy cattle.

April 19, 2024

FDA faces scrutiny on Capitol Hill

The hearing came at a critical juncture for the FDA commissioner, who may have just nine months left to enact his agenda for a massive agency charged with regulating products that account for about 20 cents of every dollar U.S. consumers spend.

April 12, 2024
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf defended his agency in the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Thursday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

In a first, FDA authorizes AI-driven test to predict sepsis in hospitals

Prenosis, an artificial intelligence company, developed a tool to predict patients’ risk of developing sepsis, which contributes to at least 350,000 U.S. deaths a year.

April 3, 2024
An illustration of rod-shaped bacteria in blood with red blood cells and white blood cells.

How prepared the U.S. is for a bird flu pandemic

Federal officials are preparing for the possibility of additional human cases of bird flu, testing components to create an H5N1 vaccine after a Texas dairy worker was infected with the highly virulent virus.

April 2, 2024
Cows huddle together at a farm in Texas. Dairy cows in several states, including Texas, have been sickened by bird flu.

Bird flu detected in dairy worker who had contact with infected cattle in Texas

This is the second case of a human sickened by this highly virulent strain of bird flu in the United States, raising questions about whether this pathogen is now more easily transmitted among mammals.

April 1, 2024
Dairy cattle feed at a farm in 2017 near Vado, N.M. Milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas has tested positive for bird flu.

FDA issues alert on heart pump associated with 49 deaths

Impella pumps are tiny devices used temporarily used to help support a patient’s heart.

March 29, 2024
The Food and Drug Administration shared updated instructions to doctors on how to use a heart pump.