Latest news with #Griffis
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
WATCH: ECSO assists OPD with felony traffic stop
Note: Video courtesy West Texas Oil Field Traffic Update Facebook page. ECTOR COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The Ector County Sheriff's Office responded to assist the Odessa Police Department with a felony traffic stop Monday afternoon, video showed. Sheriff Mike Griffis said the large police presence near University Boulevard and Alturas Avenue was in response to a stolen vehicle. Video on Facebook showed that at least one person was taken into custody. Griffis said the suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was detained by ECSO deputies and then released to OPD. We've reached out to OPD for more information and will update this story as more details become available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
16-04-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
RFK Jr.'s mixed message about the measles outbreaks draws criticism from health officials
WASHINGTON — As measles outbreaks popped up across the U.S. this winter, pediatricians waited for the nation's public health agency to send a routine, but important, letter that outlines how they could help stop the spread of the illness. It wasn't until last week — after the number of cases grew to more than 700, and a second young child in Texas had died from a measles infection — that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally issued its correspondence. The delay of that letter may seem minor. But it is one in a string of missteps that more than a dozen doctors, nurses and public health officials interviewed by The Associated Press identified in the Trump administration's response to the outbreak. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s efforts to contain an epidemic in a tight-knit, religious community in West Texas have run counter to established public health strategies deployed to end past epidemics. 'What we are lacking now is one, clear strong voice — from the federal to the state to the local — saying that the vaccine is the only thing that will prevent measles,' said Patricia Stinchfield, a nurse and infectious disease expert who helped stop a 2017 measles outbreak in Minnesota's Somali community. An 'extremely unusual' approach to the outbreak Behind the scenes, Kennedy has not been regularly briefed in person on the outbreak by his own infectious disease experts at the CDC at least through March 21, according to Kevin Griffis, a career staffer who worked as the agency's communications director until he resigned that day. Even after the measles claimed its first young Texas victim in late February, Kennedy had still not been briefed by CDC staff, Griffis said. His account was confirmed by a second former federal health official, who resigned at the end of February. A spokesperson for Kennedy did not answer specific written questions about how he had been briefed or his communications with CDC staff. The spokesperson said the CDC activated an Atlanta-based response in early February to provide overall guidance on measles testing and vaccination strategy. An on-the-ground team was deployed to West Texas throughout most of March and withdrawn on April 1. It was a 'joint decision' between state and federal officials to send the team home, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said. Another team of seven was dispatched back to the region this week. In previous administrations, health secretaries held weekly briefings with CDC staff, lasting between 25 and 30 minutes, during infectious disease outbreaks, both former HHS officials said. Kennedy, instead, received updates on paper or through email, Griffis said. 'That is extremely unusual,' said Griffis, who sat in on such briefings with the previous health secretary and said that none were held for Kennedy during his first month on the job. 'I've never seen that before.' In another irregularity, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the nation's largest network of pediatricians, has not been tapped to work with the CDC on the outbreak, according to the organization's officials. Historically, the CDC and AAP have convened for monthly or biweekly briefings during outbreaks to share updates, which include details about what doctors are seeing and questions they're fielding from parents in exam rooms. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the health department's response. The only updates provided widely to pediatricians by the CDC have come from a health alert network update sent on March 7, a week after the first U.S. measles death in a decade, and the letter sent to providers last week, which, according to the pediatric academy officials, was late in the outbreak. Kennedy praised the CDC on Tuesday during an event in Indianapolis, saying it 'had done a very good job controlling the measles outbreak.' Kennedy endorses vaccines, but still raises safety doubts Kennedy's inconsistent and unclear message on the measles vaccines has also made the outbreaks difficult to contain, experts say. He has occasionally endorsed the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine as 'effective,' but also continues to raise safety concerns about the shots in other statements. In a CBS interview last week, he claimed the vaccines were 'not safety tested.' That approach has been the biggest flaw of the government's response, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, the president of the Infectious Disease Society of America. 'Imagine if the captain of the Titanic had told you that you need to be careful about lifeboats and think about other opportunities,' del Rio said. Trials were conducted on thousands of children before the vaccine was approved for use in the 1960s. The federal government has since used medical records to continue to monitor for side effects from use in millions of people since. Health secretaries have typically delivered a clear message urging the public to get vaccinated during outbreaks, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, a former deputy director at the CDC who retired after 33 years at the agency in 2021. President Donald Trump and his first-term health secretary, Alex Azar, urged people to get shots during news conferences in 2019, when measles ripped through Brooklyn and infected more than 1,200 nationwide. 'You don't necessarily need the secretary of health to attend a funeral, OK, but you don't want to have mixed messages on vaccines,' Schuchat said. 'Someone in a federal building in Washington can do a lot of harm from the way that they are messaging.' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also quiet on vaccines Local leaders have largely been left alone to urge the public to take up vaccinations. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has not urged the public to get vaccinated, either. He has not held any news conferences about the outbreak and posted just once on social media about measles since January. Any statements about the illnesses, which have also put 56 people in the hospital at some point, have been left to his aides. Abbott's office did not respond to questions about his response to the outbreak. Governors in other states have responded more forcefully to the growing measles case count. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat and a doctor, made front page news last week after urging Hawaiians to take up vaccines when the state recorded its first measles case in a year. Ahead of a busy travel week for the Easter holiday, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, unequivocally called on people to vaccinate themselves and their children. There are no known measles cases in Nebraska, but an outbreak is active in neighboring Kansas. 'If you're not vaccinated, you're going to get measles,' Pillen said last week. Those types of statements are important for the public to hear leaders say from the top down, said Dr. Oxiris Barbot, who was New York City's health commissioner during the 2019 measles outbreak. Barbot worked with local rabbis, as well as doctors and nurses in the Jewish community, to send messages that encouraged vaccine uptake. Calls from Trump and Azar, who urged the public to vaccinate, helped her make the case, too. When national leaders distance themselves from that message, she said it 'starts to erode the effectiveness of people who are trying to convey those messages at the local level.' Originally Published: April 16, 2025 at 8:06 AM CDT
The Independent
16-04-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Health officials hit out at RFK Jr after deadly measles outbreak
As measles outbreaks popped up across America this winter, pediatricians waited for the nation's public health agency to send a routine, but important, letter that outlines how they could help stop the spread of the illness. It wasn't until last week — after the number of cases grew to more than 700, and a second young child in Texas died from a measles infection — that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally issued its correspondence. The delay of that letter may seem minor. But it is one in a string of missteps that more than a dozen doctors, nurses and public health officials interviewed by The Associated Press identified in the Trump administration's response to the outbreak. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s efforts to contain an epidemic in a tight-knit, religious community in West Texas have run counter to established public health strategies deployed to end past epidemics. 'What we are lacking now is one, clear strong voice — from the federal to the state to the local — saying that the vaccine is the only thing that will prevent measles," said Patricia Stinchfield, a nurse and infectious disease expert who helped stop a 2017 measles outbreak in Minnesota 's Somali community. Behind the scenes, Kennedy has not been regularly briefed in person on the outbreak by his own infectious disease experts at the CDC at least through March 21, according to Kevin Griffis, a career staffer who worked as the agency's communications director until he resigned that day. Even after the measles claimed its first young Texas victim in late February, Kennedy had still not been briefed by CDC staff, Griffis said. His account was confirmed by a second former federal health official, who resigned at the end of February. A spokesperson for Kennedy did not answer specific written questions about how he had been briefed or his communications with CDC staff. The spokesperson said the CDC activated an Atlanta-based response in early February to provide overall guidance on measles testing and vaccination strategy. An on-the-ground team was deployed to West Texas throughout most of March and withdrawn on April 1. It was a 'joint decision' between state and federal officials to send the team home, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said. Another team of seven was dispatched back to the region this week. In previous administrations, health secretaries held weekly briefings with CDC staff, lasting between 25 and 30 minutes, during infectious disease outbreaks, both former HHS officials said. Kennedy, instead, received updates on paper or through email, Griffis said. 'That is extremely unusual,' said Griffis, who sat in on such briefings with the previous health secretary and said that none were held for Kennedy during his first month on the job. 'I've never seen that before.' In another irregularity, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the nation's largest network of pediatricians, has not been tapped to work with the CDC on the outbreak, according to the organization's officials. Historically, the CDC and AAP have convened for monthly or biweekly briefings during outbreaks to share updates, which include details about what doctors are seeing and questions they're fielding from parents in exam rooms. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the health department's response. The only updates provided widely to pediatricians by the CDC have come from a health alert network update sent on March 7, a week after the first U.S. measles death in a decade, and the letter sent to providers last week, which, according to the pediatric academy officials, was late in the outbreak. Kennedy praised the CDC on Tuesday during an event in Indianapolis, saying it 'had done a very good job controlling the measles outbreak.' Kennedy's inconsistent and unclear message on the measles vaccines has also made the outbreaks difficult to contain, experts say. He has occasionally endorsed the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine as 'effective,' but also continues to raise safety concerns about the shots in other statements. In a CBS interview last week, he claimed the vaccines were 'not safety tested.' That approach has been the biggest flaw of the government's response, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, the president of the Infectious Disease Society of America. 'Imagine if the captain of the Titanic had told you that you need to be careful about lifeboats and think about other opportunities,' del Rio said. Trials were conducted on thousands of children before the vaccine was approved for use in the 1960s. The federal government has since used medical records to continue to monitor for side effects from use in millions of people since. Health secretaries have typically delivered a clear message urging the public to get vaccinated during outbreaks, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, a former deputy director at the CDC who retired after 33 years at the agency in 2021. President Donald Trump and his first-term health secretary, Alex Azar, urged people to get shots during news conferences in 2019, when measles ripped through Brooklyn and infected more than 1,200 nationwide. 'You don't necessarily need the secretary of health to attend a funeral, OK, but you don't want to have mixed messages on vaccines,' Schuchat said. 'Someone in a federal building in Washington can do a lot of harm from the way that they are messaging.' Local leaders have largely been left alone to urge the public to take up vaccinations. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has not urged the public to get vaccinated, either. He has not held any news conferences about the outbreak and posted just once on social media about measles since January. Any statements about the illnesses, which have also put 56 people in the hospital at some point, have been left to his aides. Abbott's office did not respond to questions about his response to the outbreak. Governors in other states have responded more forcefully to the growing measles case count. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat and a doctor, made front page news last week after urging Hawaiians to take up vaccines when the state recorded its first measles case in a year. Ahead of a busy travel week for the Easter holiday, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, unequivocally called on people to vaccinate themselves and their children. There are no known measles cases in Nebraska, but an outbreak is active in neighboring Kansas. 'If you're not vaccinated, you're going to get measles,' Pillen said last week. Those types of statements are important for the public to hear leaders say from the top down, said Dr. Oxiris Barbot, who was New York City's health commissioner during the 2019 measles outbreak. Barbot worked with local rabbis, as well as doctors and nurses in the Jewish community, to send messages that encouraged vaccine uptake. Calls from Trump and Azar, who urged the public to vaccinate, helped her make the case, too. When national leaders distance themselves from that message, she said it 'starts to erode the effectiveness of people who are trying to convey those messages at the local level.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Yahoo
Law enforcement keeping an eye on oilfield thefts in 2025
ECTOR COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Oil and gas is a billion-dollar industry that has grown locally and across the globe over the decades, but recently oilfield thieves have had their eyes on profit for themselves. ABC Big 2 spoke with Ector County Sheriff, Mike Griffis about how oil field thefts are a threat to the industry – spotlighting room for concern. 'Right here in Odessa, Texas/West Texas is the oilfield. People make great, great money' said Sheriff Griffis. 'You know a 20-year-old kid making $100,000 dollars a year, easy. It's a very big presence in our area, it always has been, and I suspect it's going to get even bigger,' Griffis in the shadow of one of the largest industries, crime has taken center stage with law enforcement. 'We deal with a lot of oil field theft,' said Sheriff Griffis. And the pay day for these thieves can be large but hurt local operators in the said millions in oil field equipment was stolen last year. RELATED: More than $300K worth of stolen property recovered in Midland Co 'We seized over a million dollars of oilfield equipment, skid-steers, backhoes, tractor-trailers from an individual – a million dollars' worth of stuff from a Cuban national,' explained Griffis. That's why late last year, Congressman Tony Gonzales brought forward the 'Protect the Permian act.' This legislation would help aid law enforcement tackle the issue and give stiffer penalties on these crimes. 'If you got a federal grant that said, 'This one agent, this one deputy, their sole job is to help combat oil theft', well, now, all of a sudden, you've put the resources towards it. The 'Protect Permian Act' was issued in September of 2024 and still awaiting approval in the 2025 legislation session. Sheriff Griffis and the Ector County Sheriff's office are doing their part with the Permian Basin Oilfield Task Force to mitigate these types of crimes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
