i saw something interesting at home depot today...

[dysfunctional press]

i was picking up some fittings for a plumbing project, and as i was going to the check out, they were getting some items delivered thru the front garage bay doors at the front(as opposed to the loading dock) and one of the items was a very large palletfull of boxes of extra-fine dustmasks...packs of 20. and it didn't seem to be their usual brand of dustmask(i did a drywall project last fall and was in the market).
it may have just been an ordinary delivery...but it seemed like an awful lot of masks for what is otherwise a down building/remodelling market, and i was wondering if they were stocking up for the projected fall swine flu season...and wondering if i shouldn't oughta pick up a box now...?

[lapfog_1]

1. Wouldn't surprise me. The H1N1 story has gone "underground"

for a while now, pretty soon it will surface again, with some shocking statistics.

[tekisui]

2. Yep. They are rushing to get some vaccines.

This Fall could be interesting.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. CDC has not buried it. I still get the weekly stats every week

and the death rates are still where they are... every week people die from it.

Now if the virulence picks up by the fall (the fear of researchers and so-far the only worrisome mutation is increased resistance to Tami-flu) then the ball game will change.

Mother nature already gave me my vaccine though.

[lapfog_1]

4. When was the last time the MSM did a big story on H1N1?

Mostly it's buried in the CNN list of "rest of the stories" or in the back pages of newspapers (well, at least the one newspaper I still get occasionally). Haven't seen it on *NBC, or Faux (not that I watch), or local news.

[dysfunctional press]

5. abc led with it on world news tonite tonite...

a story about how pregnant women are particularly at risk from the strain.

[lapfog_1]

8. I'll have to watch....

but you gotta admit, there haven't been that many stories since the outbreak first started.

[TheMadMonk]

17. Because so far the mortality rate is not appreciably different...

...to that of any other run of the mill strain of the flu. No bleed. No lead.

If the virulence picks up, so will the coverage.

[lapfog_1]

19. Better check your numbers again....

the "typical" flu has a mortality rate of %.1, so far the H1N1 variant has been holding steady at %.5, which is much higher AND the usual victim of "typical" flu is immune compromised children and the elderly, whereas with the H1N1, the mortality rate with adults is much higher. While the %.5 isn't as bad as the 2% from the 1918 outbreak, it's still very troubling, especially given the low resistance to this flu.

If only 10 percent of the population comes down with this flu, and the mortality rate remains, that's still around 150,000 dead in the US.

[emilyg]

9. BBC has something almost daily.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Mexican and Canadian news have a story at least weekly

and my local news has a story every week as well.

Then again I am in Cali, where it is WIDESPREAD.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. My local news channels lead with it at least once weekly

the latest has been a break of it in the local women's jail

[Ilsa]

23. NBC Nightly News did H1N1 last night, IIRC. Made me think about the Torchwood

miniseries that was on last week.

[deek]

6. Would those masks even be effective? eom

.

[dysfunctional press]

7. they weren't your run-of-the-mill 3m dustmasks with the yellow band and metal noseclip...

these were more...expensive looking. from a retail perspective, it's not really about whether or not they'll be effective, but rather whether or not the hoi polloi will THINK that they'll work.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Xithras]

12. Can you describe them?

I buy dust masks from HD regularly for the various projects around my house, from the thin cheapies to canister masks that I use while varnishing woodwork or soldering. I'm wondering which ones you saw.

[dysfunctional press]

13. they come in a bluish box of 20, but i don't recall the brand...

but they definitely were NOT 3m:

(these aren't the ones i saw today)



i don't remember seeing them on sale there before- but i could be mistaken.

[Xithras]

16. Bluish box of 20? I'd bet $$ those were 3M N95 masks

They have a charcoal layer sandwiched in between the normal filter material to remove odors, and are typically used for painting or work in extremely dusty environments. I have a box of them in my garage.

No more useful for swine flu than any other mask. Might be useful if you're stacking corpses and don't want to smell them though.

on edit..

This it? http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100200642&categoryID=500312

[dysfunctional press]

18. nope- i already said that they weren't 3m.

[dysfunctional press]

20. okay- here's what they are...

i had to run out and pick up a prescription, and the other home depot was in the neighborhood- and they had a shitload of them too.

they are MSA brand 'safetywoks' n95 harmful dust respirators, a gray box with a blue stripe on the side, contractor pack of 20 for $19.97, and according to the sku tag on the aisle display, they've had them in stock at that price since at least 05/08/09.
it may just be their normal supplies- but there were probably a couple gross boxes on the pallet at each store, and it just made me think that maybe they were expecting a run on them...:shrug:
as far as them not really working to stop the virus- from a business perspective, it doesn't matter if they will as long as people think they will, or at least think that they're better than nothing(so long as the business doesn't make any claims or suggestions in that regard).


this is a picture of the box from amazon- it must be the old design?

[undeterred]

15. They were selling them at Walgreens when the story was hot.

[lpbk2713]

21. Might be for removal of the Chinese drywall.

Some drywall made in China has been determined hazardous and
wherever it has been installed it will need to be replaced.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/18/chinese.drywall/index.html


(Ed to add link.)

[WillieW]

22. I already got my N95 masks. With my compromised immune system, I want to be covered.

here is where I purchased my masks.

http://fluarmour.com/

I am also stocking up on essentials. When things get bad, I don't want to go out.