Evaluation of science advice during the Covid-19 pandemic in Sweden
Sweden&#x27;s COVID response was excellent.<p>First of all, the comparison to other Nordic countries is inappropriate. Its population-weighted density is closer to the UK, and closest to Austria:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;swprs.org&#x2F;judgment-day-sweden-vindicated&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;swprs.org&#x2F;judgment-day-sweden-vindicated&#x2F;</a><p>This Nordic cross-comparison is lazy and agenda-driven.<p>Secondly, Sweden had 20 times fewer deaths than initially projected without a lockdown:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;medrxiv.org&#x2F;content&#x2F;10.1101&#x2F;2020.04.11.20062133v1.full.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;medrxiv.org&#x2F;content&#x2F;10.1101&#x2F;2020.04.11.20062133v1.fu...</a><p>The initial calls to lockdown were justified with these projections, not with how many COVID deaths Sweden would have relative to neighboring countries.<p>Thirdly, not instituting a lockdown meant Sweden had far fewer limitations of civil liberties, and fewer adverse lockdown-related health and socioeconomic damage. For example, forcing a million young people to forego in-person schooling for a year would have done enormous damage to education:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mckinsey.com&#x2F;featured-insights&#x2F;coronavirus-leading-through-the-crisis&#x2F;charting-the-path-to-the-next-normal&#x2F;30-to-40-percent-of-minority-and-low-income-students-werent-learning-during-lockdowns" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mckinsey.com&#x2F;featured-insights&#x2F;coronavirus-leadi...</a><p>Not to mention the harm to development from foregoing summer jobs, in-person social interaction, etc for one or two years.<p>The claim that lockdowns were appropriate doesn&#x27;t even begin to contend with the harm from lockdowns. It focuses on COVID deaths single-mindedly, when it&#x27;s a policy that affects every facet of society and daily life.