Communicable disease: prevention and control.

Existing law, the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Act, imposes various functions and duties on the State Department of Public Health and local health officers with respect to the prevention and control of communicable diseases. This bill would require the department to aggregate data related to overall vaccine coverage rates in skilled nursing facilities serving veterans and seniors and the preparedness of those facilities to respond to viral illnesses, as defined, and related post-viral illnesses. The bill would require the department to use existing data, reports, and studies in meeting these data aggregation requirements. The bill would require the department to submit a report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Health that outlines the preparedness of skilled nursing facilities that serve veterans and seniors to respond to viral illnesses and related post-viral illnesses, the financial impact of these conditions on individuals and the state, and health data trends of demographic groups and geographic areas of the state experiencing the highest levels of viral illness. The bill would require the department to disseminate best practices related to increasing coverage rates of recommended vaccines at skilled nursing facilities that serve veterans and seniors, improving the preparedness of those facilities to prevent and treat viral illnesses, and implementing specified treatment protocols. The bill would require the department identify and pursue any available federal funding to incentivize and reward skilled nursing facilities for the improvement of overall coverage rates of recommended vaccines for the prevention and treatment of viral illnesses.