Swine Flu, Air Travel, and Me

Few people could match me in vigilence about infectious diseases. I follow the great University of Minnesota CIDRAP web site, which sends a daily email newsletter on what's going on in the world of infectious diseases, from flu to food-borne infections. I have a lifetime supply of Purell hand gel, bought back in the days of anthrax (CBO's building was closed for over a month). And, I have a supply of surgical masks and gloves (though no surgical knives). And, I follow my own advice about the importance of Vitamin D in maintaining innate immunity against flu and colds.
So, when I made a weekend trip to Austin, Texas on Saturday, you would think that I would have worn a face mask on the plane. But, no! I did have two with me (one for each way), but I never took them out of their bag. Why not? I would have felt very silly as the only person on the whole plane wearing a face mask. And, they're a nuisance, too. On the plane to Austin, there were almost no coughs (yes, I did monitor coughs), but on the way back the plane was full of hackers. Even then, I was not tempted to bring out the mask because I figured it would be too late anyway if any of those coughers were swine babies. And, I'm not young, and I take 2000 IU of Vitamin D every day. So, I felt I'd done enough.
From this I conclude that Americans will not use masks unless they are required to do so as a matter of policy. The government, or the airline, or the airport authority must require (or strongly suggest) the use of masks to get people to act defensively. And, they probably would have to provide them as well.
In Japan people wear masks on the street whenever they have colds; it's considered the polite and socially responsible thing to do. Everyone was wearing masks in Tokyo last week. We are not Japanese.
I need to do research on whether the US government is stockpiling masks for distribution should the need arise. Do airlines have emergency stocks to allow for continued operations during flu season?
Nobody seems to know what will happen to the swine flu after the sun disappears this fall, or whether it will grow in lethality. The government is doing a good job agonizing over whether to produce a vaccine for the fall. I have a lot of faith in those decisions. But I still think it would be good for individuals to invest in some N95 face masks, a big supply of Purell (which flew off the shelves of my supermarket last week), and after labor day, a daily supplement of Vitamin D (1000 IU per day should do it until flu starts to arrive, unless you're deficient. Are you? Bet you don't know. )