Valley Fever Education, Early Diagnosis, and Treatment Act.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a list of reportable communicable and noncommunicable diseases and conditions and specify the timeliness requirements related to the reporting of each disease and condition. Existing law requires the department to develop information about various communicable diseases, including hepatitis C and meningococcal disease, and to make the information available to the public. Existing law also supports research into the development of a vaccine to protect against valley fever (coccidioidomycosis) . This bill would establish the Valley Fever Education, Early Diagnosis, and Treatment Act. This bill would, among other things, require the department to conduct a valley fever awareness campaign to communicate with local health jurisdictions, providers, and the public about valley fever, as described. The bill would authorize the department to award grants or enter into contracts to perform activities related to the awareness campaign, as specified. Those provisions would become inoperative on January 1, 2021.