BIDEN ADMIN WANTS STATES TO KEEP EXPIRING J&J DOSES — White House officials are telling states they can set aside unused Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses once they expire rather than throw them away, four sources with knowledge told POLITICO’s Rachel Roubein. White House aides in private calls with governors and state officials on Tuesday said the FDA is expected to examine whether the vaccine’s shelf life is longer than three months. The guidance to quarantine the J&J doses is meant to ensure they won’t be discarded and can be used if the agency does extend the vaccine’s shelf life. Biden health officials said the expiration dates of the coronavirus vaccines were initially conservative, since the shots are so new. But on Tuesday, they sounded optimistic that additional data could show the shots last longer, according to two sources. This comes after POLITICO reported last week that the Biden administration is considering donating states’ unused doses of vaccines to countries in need. States have built up reserves of J&J’s single-dose shot as demand for vaccines has plummeted in recent weeks, raising urgent questions from officials about whether they’ll have to dump some J&J supply starting at the end of the month. The falling demand has affected J&J in particular, since the 11-day pause on its use came right as supply began outpacing demand in many states. SENATE WADES THROUGH DRUG PRICING QUAGMIRE — Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) spent the Memorial Day recess lobbying his colleagues to back a bill to empower Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices — but consensus remains elusive, POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein reports. Wyden is still trying to strike a deal among his Democratic colleagues, but has advocated a mix of House Democrats' government negotiation bill, H.R. 3, and policies like the one he and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa backed last year to fine drugmakers that excessively raise prices. One obstacle to that approach: whether prices negotiated by Medicare would also apply for other public and private insurance plans. The committee’s Dems remain all over the place: Some, like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) insist that Medicare negotiation must be part of the package. Others like Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) want to instead use last year’s narrower bipartisan drug-pricing bill as a starting point. And Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a long-time defender of the pharmaceutical industry and critical vote in a 50-50 Senate, is not yet on board with any policy under discussion. “Show me how it’s going to reduce the cost to the patient, not just the government,” he said. “We keep taking money from the pharmaceutical industry and then we never see the reduction in the cost of prescription drugs. How is that solving the problem?” BIDEN NOMINEES SAIL THROUGH SENATE HEARING — President Joe Biden's picks to lead emergency response and addiction care had a largely smooth hearing before the Senate’s health panel Tuesday. Both Dawn O’Connell, nominee for HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, pledged to tackle care inequities, take lessons from the ongoing pandemic and work across the aisle. Each woman has previous experience with the offices they are set to helm, earning them bipartisan praise during the hearing. “Candidly, I wish that this hearing was held months ago,” ranking member Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said to O’Connell in his opening remarks. “This is not a political or a personal choice for any administration.” He vented that there had been an acting assistant secretary for too many months during a pandemic—much like the situation at FDA, where the Biden administration has yet to name a permanent commissioner. “I have the greatest respect for Janet Woodcock, she is leading the FDA ably, and I think she has all of the qualifications needed for this moment, but we need a fully confirmed person in that role,” Burr said. Woodcock, FDA’s longtime drug chief, was an early favorite for the permanent post. Instead, she’s served as acting commissioner for months . | 
