Austin Fast
Austin Fast is the inaugural Roy W. Howard Fellow on NPR's investigations team.
Before coming to NPR, Fast reported for KJZZ in Phoenix and covered the world's largest wild salmon fishery at KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska. He's also written breaking news at a Cincinnati TV station and taught English overseas with the Peace Corps.
Fast holds a master's degree in investigative journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and bachelor's degrees in journalism and international studies from Miami University (Ohio).
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An NPR analysis of data released by the Small Business Administration shows the vast majority of Paycheck Protection Program loans have been forgiven, even though the program was rampant with fraud. -
Fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program, which gave potentially forgivable loans to small businesses during the pandemic, was largely due to financial technology companies, according to a new report. -
Fewer than 10% of all Paycheck Protection Program loans remain unforgiven, and the majority of those belong to one-person businesses — companies the program most intended to help.
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Officials promised a robust review process before forgiving PPP loans, but most loans could be forgiven with a simple, one-page form. Meanwhile, just 2% of loans have gotten close, hands-on reviews. -
Almost 1 in 10 nurses who were issued new licenses last year waited six months or more, an NPR analysis found. Nurses say patient care suffers as these delays make staffing shortages even worse. -
Staffing shortages at hospitals across the U.S. are worsened by state boards taking months to process nursing licenses. It's resulted in a huge backlog in nurses waiting for jobs during the pandemic.
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The CDC's COVID-19 data set is supposed to help track the pandemic, but a new NPR analysis has found the majority of fields are blank and millions of cases across the country are missing altogether. -
As the delta variant takes over in the U.S., new, localized outbreaks are emerging. Those surges are likely driven by pockets of dangerously low vaccination rates.
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Cities are leaving rural areas behind in the race to vaccinate against COVID-19, but some states' suburbs are struggling, too. To close the gap experts say, outreach needs to be hyperlocal. -
As adults of all ages get access to the COVID-19 vaccines, health researchers worry that the trend could worsen.