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Can the National Institute of Public Health help me answer Svein? Of course, I will continue to communicate the FHI criteria. Sincerely, Bjørn. »
This was written by health director Bjørn Guldvog in an email to director Camilla Stoltenberg of the National Institute of Public Health. It was 1:04 pm on a Wednesday in late August and Guldvog had just been reprimanded by the municipal director of the municipality of Oslo, Svein Lyngroth.
Hello Bjørn. I will follow up immediately so that you get some good help with the reply. You heard from me. Greetings Camilla, ”Stoltenberg replied 18 minutes later.
General message
Since March, Guldvog and Stoltenberg have been among the most important and prominent figures in Norway by virtue of their roles as leaders of their respective health institutions. Initially, it was unclear whether the Norwegian Health Directorate and the National Institute of Public Health each recommended their own strategy for dealing with the spread of Covid-19, but they have been in agreement on most things ever since.
The ability to rally around a message was exemplified in the debate on the role of children in the spread of infection. Deputy Health Director Espen Rostrup Nakstad told Dagbladet that a new report showed that children can contribute significantly to the spread of the infection, just like adults.
The National Institute of Public Health responded by publishing a press release in which it concluded that new studies strengthened the knowledge that children play a lesser role in the spread of infection than adults.
Six days after the first initiative, Nakstad and FHI chief physician Margrethe Greve-Isdahl met for a column in which they concluded that there is no evidence that children are a major source of the spread of the coronavirus in Norwegian society. .
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corrected
It was just an hour before Guldvog’s email to Stoltenberg that he was reprimanded by the municipal director of the Oslo municipality, Svein Lyngroth.
“At yesterday’s press conference, an impression was created, which VG and Dagbladet have conveyed, from the health director that it is dangerous with covid-19 and flu at the same time and that as many people as possible should be vaccinated against the flu. “
Lyngroth referred to the Dagbladet article in which Guldvog warned against double disease. In particular, Lyngroth reacted to Guldvog’s quote to Dagbladet that “the public has the opportunity to influence flu season by getting vaccinated against influenza. Especially those who are in risk groups, but also others who have the opportunity to do so.
Lyngroth feared expectations among the population that could be difficult to meet. He knew that Norway had only ordered 1.2 million doses of vaccines, while up to 1.6 million Norwegians are considered to be in the risk group.
“This generates expectations among the population, the media and politics, which in our opinion are in conflict with the professional recommendations that apply.”
Recognition
Guldvog did not respond to the email. Instead, he turned to Stoltenberg for advice. Deputy Health Directors Espen Rostrup Nakstad and Geir Stene-Larsen were also informed.
“Hey, Camilla.” Surely Svein Lyngroth may be right that I may have helped create expectations about the flu vaccine that do not fully match the criteria. I may have expressed myself too inaccurately, and I would very much like your help at FHI for a good common message. I have read about the FHI criteria and I am also attached to the NHS. I probably thought that in a COVID-19 pandemic we would be more interested in the low incidence of seasonal flu. “
Take self-criticism
Svein Lyngroth, municipal director of the council’s department of health, seniors and citizen services, tells Dagbladet they wanted clarification on the flu vaccine recommendation.
– We experience that the communication from national authorities has become clearer after the email was sent, says Lyngroth.
Guldvog tells Dagbladet that it was natural for Lyngroth to criticize his statements.
– I did not emphasize well enough that we cannot give vaccines to the entire population. Lyngroth let me know that we wanted a limited number of flu vaccines available and that healthcare professionals and risk groups need to be addressed first. I agree with that, and it was a good clarification on their part, says Guldvog.
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The relationship
Dagbladet has had access to email correspondence between Guldvog and Stoltenberg since July and August. The emails are about infection control related to covid-19 management in Norway.
Communication is mostly about practical things, like information about assignments and meetings. In just a few of the emails, Stoltenberg and Guldvog address each other directly.
Stoltenberg tells Dagbladet that the emails to a small extent reflect their form of cooperation and the relationship between them. This is because they mainly use email as a communication channel to clarify practicalities.
– The collaboration is close and good. We talk and meet often, sometimes several times a day on the phone and in meetings, both physical and digital. We are always available to each other via mobile. When this happens very rarely, we know who to contact as acting head of the Norwegian Directorate of Health and the National Institute of Public Health respectively, Stoltenberg tells Dagbladet.
Guldvog describes the collaboration as reliable and very good.
– The vast majority of the dialogue between us as leaders takes place orally, over the phone or in face-to-face meetings, often several times a day. We are available to each other all the time and would rather receive a phone call than send long emails, says the health director.
Entry
Stoltenberg also addressed Guldvog directly ahead of an Emergency Preparedness Committee (BUB) meeting on August 19. He asked Guldvog’s opinion on how much his presentation should be and what he wanted her to emphasize.
“Here is the presentation, but the plan is to use only parts of it. I hope you talk about the last part, that is, the answer to ‘the big assignments’,” Stoltenberg wrote to Guldvog.
At the meeting, he said that the National Institute of Public Health believed this summer’s outbreak was under control, but that they were still concerned about the situation and were closely monitoring developments. He also warned that there was uncertainty associated with covert proliferation, the start-up of schools, universities and many companies after the holidays, the minutes of the meeting show, to which Dagbladet has had access.
Outbreak
The news image was particularly affected by the Hurtigruten eruption in the first half of August. More than 60 employees and passengers tested positive for covid-19 after the eruption on the trips with the Hurtigruten ship “Roald Amundsen”. There was also an increase in the number of infection cases in Norway during the same period. But this was not mentioned in the emails between Guldvog and Stoltenberg.
FHI turns around bandage
Stoltenberg explains that he took summer vacation the first week of August.
– Due to the Hurtigrute case, I still kept in very close contact with those who handled the case on behalf of FHI. The FHI outbreak group and interim management at FHI assisted Hurtigruten, the affected municipalities and the ministry in handling the case. I also had contact with Bjørn Guldvog by phone several times during this period, says Stoltenberg.
Guldvog says that the Norwegian Health Directorate was well informed at all times.
– We had close contact between FHI and the Norwegian Health Directorate on Hurtigruten on many levels. I had several conversations with Stoltenberg and others at FHI about this, says Guldvog.
