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By the 1980s there was a growing awareness of the risk of sexually transmitted diseases such as the herpes virus. College campuses such as Cal State LA sought to shed light on the risks by spreading awareness.

The emergence and rapid spread of AIDS in the 1980s led to fears about procedures such as blood donation. Very little was known about the cause of the disease, which later was discovered to be a virus called HIV.

In the early 80s, not much was known about AIDS or HIV. It was erroneously and dangerously characterized by the media as a disease affecting gay men, African Americans, and drug users.

Cal State LA continued to serve as a center for public health in the 1980s by offering flu vaccines much in the same way it had offered polio vaccines in the 1960s.

As AIDS became more widely known, the Red Cross sought to reassure the public of the safety of blood donation.

Sponsored jointly by the NAACP and Anheuser-Busch, Cal State LA offered free testing for Sickle Cell Anemia and other diseases on campus during the 1980s.

Flu shots offered for free.

The University Library had a small measles outbreak. The LA County Department of Public Health quartined some students and staff who were exposed. To be cleared, students and staff had to show evidence of immunization to the virus.

As cases appear in the United States and the cases increase worldwide, the university made the decision to close down the campus and convert to remote learning to avoid spread on campus.

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