Review and comment on Sweden’s COVID-19 commission investigation
Sweden initially chose a different path to prevent and fight disease during the pandemic than many other European countries. In June 2020, the Swedish government established a national commission to review the handling of covid-19 in Sweden. In an examination, Professor Jonas F Ludvigsson summarizes and comments on what the commission’s investigation has concluded. The review is published in Acta Paediatrica.
The Covid-19 pandemic affected many aspects of daily life in Sweden and led to a dramatic loss of life, especially among older and poorer residents. It also caused unprecedented disruption to family life, work, school, the continuum of care and society and no one escaped its impact. At the end of June 2020, the Swedish government established a national covid-19 commission to investigate how Sweden handled the pandemic. Interim reports were published in 2020 and 2021 with a final report in February 2022.
“I think the Swedish covid-19 commission’s investigation is a well-written summary and critique of how Sweden tackled the pandemic. The pandemic disrupted society and learning from the report is crucial for our future pandemic preparedness. Despite the importance of the investigation, I have so far not met a colleague who has actually read the 1,700 pages, and that is why I wrote this review, to make the conclusions of the investigative investigation available to more people, says the paper’s author, says Professor Jonas F Ludvigsson, pediatrician at Örebro University Hospital and professor at Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet.
In Sweden, death rates were high in the spring of 2020, but the total excess mortality in 2020–2021 was +0.79%, which was lower than in many other European countries.
“While the commission is often critical of the handling of the pandemic in Sweden, they also underline that voluntary measures taken, including keeping schools open, were appropriate and maintained the personal freedom of Swedes during the pandemic,” adds Ludvigsson. “However, they also conclude that more extensive and earlier measures should have been taken, especially during the first wave.”
The paper by Ludvigsson focuses on health aspects of Sweden’s covid-19 strategy, but also includes an overview of social care in Sweden, the commission’s recommendations for elderly care, a review of postponed and delayed healthcare in 2020 (for example, diagnosed heart attacks and some cancer screening reduced), and the commission’s recommendations to strengthen pandemic preparedness. Finally, Ludvigsson’s review also includes a clinical overview of how covid-19 was treated in Swedish hospitals during the third wave in spring 2021.
Sweden right not to lockdown for covid: report
Jonas F. Ludvigsson, How Sweden approached the covid-19 pandemic: summary and commentary on the national commission investigation, Acta Paediatrica (2022). DOI: 10.1111/apa.16535
Quote: Review and commentary on Sweden’s covid-19 commission inquiry (2022, September 7) retrieved September 7, 2022 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-commentary-sweden-covid-commission-inquiry.html
This document is subject to copyright. Except for any fair trade for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.