Allow ‘controlled spread’ of coronavirus among under-60s, Swedish expert to tell Ireland
Nordic nation’s ex-chief epidemiologist to warn against holding out for Covid vaccine

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The Irish government will be advised today to allow coronavirus to spread through the country’s younger population as part of a push to control community infections.
Sweden’s former chief epidemiologist Dr Johan Giesecke will tell the Dail’s Covid-19 Committee that the virus should be allowed to “spread through the population alongside a programme that concentrates on the ‘old and frail’”, The Irish Times reports.
Giesecke will also advise that staff and residents of care homes are tested regularly - and urge the government “not to build its Covid-19 strategy around the imminent advent of a vaccine”, the paper adds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“We might have to wait for it and it may not be very effective in those who need it most,” the ex-health chief is expected to say.
Eyebrows were raised over Sweden’s lockdown-free response to the pandemic, but “evidence is mounting that Sweden has beaten the coronavirus epidemic with herd immunity rather than lockdowns”, says The Times.
After recording high levels of Covid cases and related deaths in the early days of the pandemic, Sweden’s infection rate is now remaining “low and stable at a time when other European countries are facing a strong resurgence”, the paper continues.
Kim Sneppen, professor of biocomplexity at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, told Danish newspaper Politiken that “there is some evidence that the Swedes have built up a degree of immunity to the virus which, along with what else they are doing to stop the spread, is enough to control the disease”.
But Giesecke’s advice to test in care homes will have to be heeded if Ireland is to follow in Sweden’s footsteps. As The Local reported back in July, “almost half of Sweden’s deaths with the coronavirus in the first half of the year occurred in elderly care homes”.
Ireland has so far recorded 33,444 cases and 1,792 deaths from Covid-19, according to latest figures, compared with Sweden’s 89,436 cases and 5,870 fatalities.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs.
Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.
-
Rupert Murdoch steps aside at the empire he built
Feature The last of the old-style 'press barons' has retired. What is he leaving behind?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Net zero: the looming 'energy gap'
Talking point UK has made strides in decarbonising UK's electricity supply but government has few plans to expand capacity
By The Week Staff Published
-
Britain's gambling habit: are we dicing with serious damage?
The Explainer The UK's betting industry has become a multibillion-pound juggernaut
By The Week Staff Published
-
How do we calculate mass deaths?
The Explainer Recent revisions to 9/11, Libyan flood and Covid-19 death tolls raise questions over estimates
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
You can now get a new Covid booster shot. Should you?
Unless you are old or otherwise at high risk, it isn't a 'slam dunk'
By Peter Weber Published
-
New Covid variant BA.2.86: does the UK booster programme go far enough?
Talking Point Some MPs and experts say criteria for jabs is ‘too narrow’ ahead of ‘rocky ride’ this winter
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Covid testing to be ramped up for winter
Speed Read Scientists fear UK could be ‘flying blind’ on infection rates due to lack of monitoring programmes
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
Wriggling worm found in woman’s brain
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Is it time to mask up again?
Today's Big Question A rise in Covid-19 cases brings back the possibility of mask mandates
By Joel Mathis Published
-
The NHS plan for virtual wards to beat winter crisis
feature Patients with respiratory infections to be given wearable devices that allow doctors to monitor them at home
By The Week Staff Published
-
Understanding the new Covid-19 variant, Eris
Speed Read The formally named EG.5 is making the rounds, but we don't have to worry just yet
By Devika Rao Published