Office Depot Joins Swine-Flu Brigade

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Office Depot(ODP Quote) is the latest retailer hoping to cash in on swine-flu fears.

The office supply retailer announced today that it is offering a "Fight the Flu" kit, which is designed to help small businesses protect themselves from the virus.

The kit includes a face mask, gloves, hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes and facial tissues and is currently available for $7.99.

Drugstores like Rite Aid(RAD Quote), Walgreen(WAG Quote) and CVS Caremark(CVS Quote) began offering season flu shots earlier this year due to heightened awareness of the flu.

Avoid This $2 Stock

Rite Aid and Walgreen are also waiting to see if they will receive doses of FluMist, the first swine flu vaccine, which was released last week to select locations.

Earlier this month, Walgreen said seasonal flu shots boosted its September same-store sales by 2.4 percentage points.

Walgreen also beefed up the dwindling supply of liquid Tamiflu by compounding capsules into the liquid.

Even retailers like Target(TGT Quote), K-Mart, a holding of Sears(SHLD Quote), and grocer Kroger(KR Quote) are offering season flu shots, as more consumers look to protect themselves.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York

Follow TheStreet.com on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.