Sweden's unique approach to the coronavirus pandemic has drawn a lot of scrutiny from the rest of the world after the country chose to forego the harsh lockdowns enacted by many of its European peers. But now several of the country's own doctors and scientists are speaking out against the strategy in an op-ed published Tuesday by USA Today.
The experts warned other nations not to follow the Nordic country's footsteps. "At the moment, we have set an example for the rest of the world on how not to deal with a deadly infectious disease," the piece reads.
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.
The signees expressed optimism about new medical treatments and vaccines, but until then, they said, don't do things "the Swedish way."
The same day as the op-ed, a report from the research firm Capital Economics suggested Sweden did weather the economic storm brought on by the virus better than its European counterparts and said the forecasted 1.5 percent drop in GDP this year "is well above consensus." However, the report also noted that Sweden was simply "the best of a bad bunch." Read the full op-ed at USA Today, as well as more about Sweden's economic situation at Business Insider.
-
The 9 restaurants to eat at this very momentThe Week Recommends They’re award-winning. Isn’t that reason enough?
-
The UK’s opioid crisis: why the stats don’t add upThe Explainer A new report has revealed that the UK’s total of opioid-related deaths could be much greater than official figures show
-
Gaza genocide: will UN ruling change anything?Today's Big Question Commission of Inquiry’s findings ‘give unprecedented weight’ to genocide claims
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
