Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

2 days ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

2 days ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

2 days ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

2 days ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

2 days ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

3 days ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

3 days ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

3 days ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

3 days ago
Can Steve Brandau Use His COVID Diagnosis as Leverage to Get a Vaccine to the County Sooner?
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 5 years ago on
November 8, 2020

Share

Following Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau’s positive COVID-19 test, officials announced the temporary closure of offices at the County Hall of Records and directed staff to quarantine.

”Upon learning of the positive test, we took quick and appropriate action per our safety protocols to close our offices and send staff home to protect against any potential spread of the virus,” said chief administrative officer Jean Rousseau.

Brandau spoke with GV Wire℠ after learning he had tested positive for COVID-19.

In a wide ranging interview, one of the main topics that came up was how Brandau could use his diagnosis to affect positive change for Fresno County residents. Just hours before our interview, drug company Astrazeneca announced a COVID-19 vaccine could arrive in January.

The county still has millions in CARES Act dollars available and the money must be spent by December, according to Brandau.

Q&A: Vaccine Leverage

GV Wire℠: AstraZeneca just came out today and said they hope to have results of their trials done by either the end of this month or early December in the hopes of having a vaccine out in January. Now, with your COVID-19 diagnosis, will the county make efforts to try and obtain AstraZeneca for members on the board or people in general here?”

Brandau: “Yeah, that’s that’s a good question. It’s probably even higher than my pay grade. So I don’t know that the county you know, I don’t know what the government has planned when it comes to distribution of the of all the cures for COVID-19. And I know there’s two, three, four or five of them that are kind of stage getting ready to come forward. And so it might be that the government through the county, through the state, through the federal government, really does allow people to get those get all of those fixes for free. I don’t know if in that case, I’m glad to be a part of it. I don’t think it’s going to be able to impact my personal COVID-19. So until then, I’m busy taking cough drops and drinking a lot of water. But it’s something we will consider when the time comes for sure.”

Q&A: Cares Act Money

Steve Brandau

“And so maybe there’s some way that we could still help people as they obtain these things (COVID-19 vaccine) with CARES act dollars. And we certainly have tens of millions of dollars left.”Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau

GV Wire℠: “How much CARES Act money is left in the county coffers, and is that something that could be utilized to purchase vaccine as soon as it becomes available to get it out to residents of Fresno County?”

Brandau: “I probably don’t have an up to date answer on how much CARES Act dollars are left. But I do know that we have tens of millions of dollars left. Fresno County got close to one hundred million dollars. The city of Fresno itself got something like $93 million. And Fresno County still have tens of millions of dollars to spend on COVID-19 that we need to spend before December. I don’t think it’s enough to provide everybody, you know, with the antivirus (vaccine). Right. So that’s going to be very expensive, as is the testing. But it’s maybe we can reduce the cost or we could find a way of helping impact people getting the antiviruses (vaccines) as their released. And so maybe there’s some way that we could still help people as they obtain these things with CARES Act dollars. And we certainly have tens of millions of dollars left.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

DON'T MISS

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s Dog Daze Fest Returns With The Chainsmokers Headlining

DON'T MISS

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

DON'T MISS

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

DON'T MISS

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

DON'T MISS

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

DON'T MISS

Hamas Says It Won’t Disarm Unless Independent Palestinian State Established

DON'T MISS

Gifford Fire Grows to 23,588 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

UP NEXT

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Grows to 23,588 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

Fresno Donates Firefighting Gear to Sister City Guadalajara

UP NEXT

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

UP NEXT

Fresno County Finds E. Coli at Avocado Lake. Don’t Swim There

UP NEXT

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

UP NEXT

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

UP NEXT

Fresno Councilmember Vang Accused of Conflict of Interest in Budget Vote

UP NEXT

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

Fresno’s Dog Daze Fest Returns With The Chainsmokers Headlining

15 hours ago

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

15 hours ago

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

16 hours ago

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

16 hours ago

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

16 hours ago

Hamas Says It Won’t Disarm Unless Independent Palestinian State Established

16 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to 23,588 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

17 hours ago

Fresno Donates Firefighting Gear to Sister City Guadalajara

17 hours ago

Corruption Scandal Puts Mexico’s President on Defense Against Trump

17 hours ago

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

1 day ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

NEW DELHI — Indian officials said Saturday that they would keep purchasing cheap oil from Russia despite a threat of penalties from Presiden...

12 hours ago

A view shows oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia June 4, 2023. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

A Lao man deported from the U.S. holds up his non-national ID card - a document that defines his legal status in the country he left behind decades ago, and to which he has now returned, in Vientiane, Laos, July 31, 2025. REUTERS/Phoonsab Thevongsa
13 hours ago

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on his way to New Jersey from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 1, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

15 hours ago

Fresno’s Dog Daze Fest Returns With The Chainsmokers Headlining

After surviving more than six months alone on the streets, a 15-pound poodle mix named Willow is now safe and learning to trust humans again. (Mell's Mutts)
15 hours ago

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the press after a hearing on the use of National Guard troops amid federal immigration sweeps, at the California State Supreme Court in San Francisco, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters FIle)
16 hours ago

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

2025 Kia Telluride is displayed during the Los Angeles Auto Show, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 21, 2024. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

Venezuelan baseball player Abraham Gutierrez, a member of Cacique Mara, a baseball youth team that will not be participating in the 2025 Little League World Series after their U.S. visa was denied, prepares for a practice session in Maracaibo, Venezuela, August 1, 2025. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
16 hours ago

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend