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Comment by cwan | Hacker News Reader

I'm sure you're not the only one but what is there that we can really do about it? Worrying about it seems somewhat counterproductive - though with nasty bugs like H1N1 (and its future mutations), SARS and some form of avian flu, I have bought a few boxes of N95 face masks and hand sanitizers just in case. Some days I figure it's excessively paranoid, on others, I figure that an insurance policy for something catastrophic that costs under 50 bucks is a pretty good deal.

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N95 masks are made to protect others, as in surgeons wearing them to protect those they operate on. Not the other way round.

Apparently, according to the CDC, it works both ways. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/respirators.htm - N95 respirators were the only masks recommended by the CDC to mitigate the risk from SARS

Yes, and in the 50s, school desks where "recommended" as safety bunkers for kids in case of a soviet nuclear attack.

Government safety prescriptions are often panaceas, but they serve the purpose of making the masses feel like everything is under control be calm.

Do you have a better recommendation?

Certainly no better recommendation, but I know for certain that governments tend to manipulate instances of mass-spread fear, either to gain advantage over the public, or to cover up their incompetence.

Ductape wont save me from a suicide bomber, just as a piece of napkin with a rubber strap wont stand between me and a mass epidemic.

I thought that we were meant to lie down or put a paper bag over our head or something.

HHGTG references go ungotten around here it seems.

Ugh. I don't see how this is even that controversial a point. Would you believe NPR instead? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1037897... - I don't take it to be a foolproof method by any means, but I suspect it's more effective than hiding under a desk in a nuclear attack as per your analogy. Besides, with the outbreaks of SARS, H1N1, scares over avian flu, the cost/risk ratio isn't exactly high given the options (which are few for most airborne viruses other than hide out until the risk has passed).

You realize that it was more for the ostensible situation that the school was in the blast zone but not in the immediate kill zone? And that by hiding under a desk, children might prevent themselves from being struck by falling debris?

They knew perfectly well what they were saying. There's no point in making a kid hysterical about getting killed by the intense heat and pressure of an atomic bomb every time there's an air raid drill.

Well we could stop interfering with biotech and let loose the dogs of war so to speak. Because I would rather have more cures with a slightly higher risk of accidents, then no cures and the same risk of natural borne killers.

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