Funny... I am just like the narrator's brother. My 'preparations' for this whole thing has been much more geared towards dealing with possible mass violence directed towards the innocent members of our community, whether fueled by the want for supplies/money/loot, xenophobia, or just common banditry as opposed to measures to try and avoid picking up the contagion.
Just for starters, just remember... When the Thirty Years War ravaged Europe in the 1630's, actual battles between military entities only resulted in the loss of lives of about 80,000 fighting men... However, 10 million noncombatant men, women, and children also perished in the chaos, organized terror, and pestilence that the conflict had left in it's wake...