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Author Johan Andreberg has reviewed several emails that were sent to Swedish state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell in the days after the coronavirus took root in Sweden.
In the unpublished book “Flocken”, of which Svenska Dagbladet has had access to an excerpt, Andreberg writes that the idea of accepting that part of the population should be infected, from the beginning was an important part of the strategy of the Health Authority Public to deal with the virus.
However, the choice was not made without several warnings from leading experts in the field that were sent to Tegnells vei.
Hailed by the bankers
Asked for an emergency meeting
Among other things, from the mathematician Tom Britton, who already warned on March 6 that Swedish society did not differ significantly from either Italy or China, and that therefore the virus would spread in Sweden, writes Aftonbladet.
Soon after, Tegnell was contacted by physician Jan Albert, who, on his behalf and two other prominent physicians, Johan von Schreeb and Denis Coulombier, requested a meeting with Tegnell.
Albert wrote that it was important that they be allowed to meet him and that if he had a small hatch the three could be in place in half an hour.
According to Aftonbladet, they met Tegnell and presented their warnings.
“Experiment of the times”: – We are right
– without head
A few days later, on March 15, Tegnell also received an email from Peet Tüll, former head of the infection control unit at the National Board of Health and Welfare and the man who had previously sat in Tegnell’s chair.
Here he stated that Sweden had three alternatives to deal with the pandemic: Shut down for four weeks. Finding as many infected people as possible, tracking them and quarantining them, the so-called TISK strategy we have in Norway, as well as letting the spread of the infection go its way, slowly or quickly, to achieve hypothetical herd immunity.
Tüll himself considered number two, that is, the strategy similar to the one we have in Norway, as the best alternative, according to Aftonbladet.
He also warned against choosing option number three, which he claimed would result in thousands of deaths.
– It seems to me a given and headless strategy, which I had never accepted in my previous position, concludes Tüll in the email.
A few hours later, Tüll received a reply from Tegnell:
– Yes, we have been through this, and we have already landed at number three, was the answer.
So far, more than 141,000 people have been infected in Sweden. 6,002 are dead.
– This is not a competition
Who will learn
Tegnell has always been clear that achieving herd immunity has not been part of Sweden’s strategy. He believes that Sweden, like Norway, has wanted to delay the spread of the virus.
However, Sweden has taken a different approach than Norway and most other countries, and little has been closed.
Schools, borders or society in general have not been closed, and the advice to stay at home has been for the sick or people at risk.
Here the infection increases
The management of the Swedish crown has attracted worldwide attention, and the WHO has previously stated that they want to study and learn from the strategy of the Swedish crown.
– Everyone does like Sweden
Antoine Flahault, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Geneva and director of the Institute for Global Health, had previously told Svenska Dagbladet that several countries now do it like Sweden, but that no one dares to admit it.
Also in Sweden, infection rates have risen sharply recently, and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven introduced new measures earlier this week to overcome the spread of infection. Among other things in the worst affected regions.
“In general, we have a development that is going bad in many ways,” Tegnell said at a press conference on Tuesday, after presenting figures from Friday to Monday: 31 dead and more than 10,000 infected.
