The State - News from June 29, 1988

A special 33-member advisory panel was convened by Gov. George Deukmejian to map strategy for the statewide battle against AIDS. “Despite all the accomplishments to date, we all know we are very far from victory,” Deukmejian said at the first meeting of the California AIDS Leadership Committee. “To respond effectively to the AIDS epidemic, we must have in place a strategy . . . (and) coordinated efforts for treatment.” Dr. Kenneth Kizer, state health services director and committee co-chairman, said the group draws from people of varied backgrounds, and “we want to bring a lot more people into the process.” Panel members are physicians, government AIDS advisers, county health officers, state department heads and business leaders. Deukmejian noted that California has had one-fourth of all U.S. cases of the fatal acquired immune deficiency syndrome since 1981.