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Feds: U.S. short on seasonal flu vaccine

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The United States is facing a shortage of seasonal flu vaccine even before the regular flu season gets into full swing, federal and independent flu experts say.

Officials said the vaccine shortage was unavoidable because the H1N1 flu pandemic raised demand for all flu shots beyond what manufacturers can produce in a year, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, told a House subcommittee Wednesday officials were "very frustrated" by the shortages, but couldn't prevent them.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, told the panel the shortage showed "the inexorable connection between preparedness for pandemic flu and preparedness for seasonal flu."

The shortage of seasonal flu vaccine are being reported across the country, the Times said. Telephone surveys and insurance billing data indicate up to 85 million Americans received seasonal flu shots, CDC spokesman David Daigle said. Last year at this time, only about 61 million had.

Daigle said 113 million doses of vaccine were made last year and about 103 million people took them. From February to May this year, manufacturers produced 114 million doses before they were asked to switch to the H1N1 flu vaccine. About 90 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine were shipped, the CDC spokesman said.

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GOP warns of interpreting wins as mandates

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The Republican Party, flush from winning two governorships, is waging an internal battle over how to reclaim control in the U.S. Congress, party leaders said.

With the 2010 midterm elections looming and gubernatorial wins in Virginia and New Jersey behind them, GOP moderates and conservatives across the country turn to battles for crucial votes in state primaries and the general election, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Conservatives were buoyed by their ability to have driven out a more moderate Republican from a New York congressional race -- won by a Democrat -- saying they would challenge any Republican candidate they deem too moderate for their taste.

How well the GOP does in next year's midterm elections may lie in its ability to turn voter discontent into votes for Republican candidates, strategists told the Post. However, some party leaders expressed concern that potentially electable moderates could be damaged if they yield to the conservative base.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, warned bruising primaries could leave eventual nominees "broke and bloody."

"We need to temper our conservative approach with pragmatism," he said. "I don't think Republicans can rest on their laurels and just sort of enjoy this, because I think there is a significant anti-Washington component of this, and the grass roots around the country want to know: 'Who are you listening to? Are you listening to us, or are you listening to some party elites in Washington?'"

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Democrats wary after odd-year election

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The White House may downplay Tuesday's Election Day outcome, but moderate and conservative Democrats in the U.S. Congress say results signal voter uneasiness.

Congressional Democrats point to the number of independent voters who flocked to Republican gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey, helping them defeat Democratic candidates. They're warning that results indicate independent voters are wary of President Barack Obama's sweeping proposals, and mounting federal spending and debt, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

"The question is, do people think we're tending to the things they care about?" Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., said as he left a Senate leadership meeting Wednesday. He said colleagues were concerned that the main items Democrats pursue -- healthcare and climate change -- don't connect with voters trying to find or keep their jobs.

"Don't think people in my state are going to stand up and start cheering about Copenhagen," Rockefeller said, referring to the U.N. Climate Change Summit in Danish capital in December. Critics of climate change legislation moving through Congress said it would kill jobs in states dependent on manufacturing and natural resources, the Post said.

Steve Elmendorf, a Democratic strategist and a top congressional aide when Democrats lost control of the House in a 1994 GOP landslide, said Wednesday lawmakers are less sanguine now than they were 15 years ago.

"They need to pay attention to it," Elmendorf said. "Voters spoke, and I think the message they sent was they care about the economy and they care about jobs. I don't think there's any reason to panic here. We have to get healthcare done, and then we have to turn our attention to the economy and jobs."

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Bush-Clinton joint appearance off

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- A joint appearance by former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush has been canceled, a Clinton representative confirmed.

Radio City Music Hall officials in New York had announced that the two former presidents would share the stage Feb. 25.

The New York Post reported Wednesday the two former presidents canceled the event because its promoter "overhyped" the appearance, CNN reported.

Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna confirmed the cancellation in an e-mail to CNN.

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Hurricane Ida hits Nicaragua

MIAMI, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Hurricane Ida made landfall in eastern Nicaragua Thursday morning packing sustained 75 mph winds, U.S. forecasters in Miami reported.

At 10 a.m., the center of Ida was about 75 miles north of Bluefields, moving toward the northwest near 6 mph, The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

"The center of Ida will move across eastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras during the next couple of days," the report said.

The ninth named Atlantic hurricane of the season that ends Nov. 30 had hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 15 miles and tropical storm force winds up to 70 miles.

The center said as Ida moves further inland, it was forecast to weaken to tropical storm later in the day.

The hurricane was expected to produce as much as 15 to 20 inches of rain over eastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras, the center said.

A three-foot coastal storm surge was forecast to generate large and dangerous battering waves, although the center said water levels would begin to subside later in the day.