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While confidence in the efforts of the Swedish authorities regarding the spread of the coronavirus is the lowest so far during the pandemic and the number of deaths as a result of the covid-19 is approaching 8,000, the message that everyone was waiting for arrived on Thursday:
– We expect Sweden to start vaccinating on December 27, 28 or 29, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said at a live press conference.
Then the European Commission had President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that vaccination will start across the EU during these three days. This is to show that everyone in the Union will receive a fair distribution of doses.
On Thursday, the state also agreed with Sweden’s municipalities and regions, SKR, to use rapid tests as a way to stop the spread of the infection in health and care, especially in the care of the elderly. The state will replace the regions for each test.
– Rapid tests, or antigen tests, will now begin to be used more and more, said Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren.
– This means that before a work shift you can test staff in a nursing home to prevent infection from entering there.
Minister for Social Affairs Lena Hallengren and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.
Photo: Fredrik Persson / TT
These can show results within 15 minutes and the examined person does not have to sit in quarantine and wait.
Lena Hallengren said that Sweden is not slow even though other countries have already introduced such tests. And it had the support of Karin Tegmark Wisell, head of department at the Swedish Public Health Agency.
– We have been strategic and now we see that it is time to use them more widely than we have done so far. This is especially important for the person who comes to know if they are infected and can thus break the spread of the infection, said Karin Tegmark Wisell.
According to Tegmark Wisell, rapid tests are an important adjunct to evaluating those who have not yet shown any symptoms and those who have symptoms so mild that they do not know they are infected.
On Thursday no exact information was received on when vaccination against covid-19 can begin. When vaccination begins, it will initially be the vaccine that has been developed by Pfizer and Biontech that can be as efficient as 95 percent. Only on Monday is the EU Medicines Agency expected to approve the vaccine and then the vaccine can begin to be distributed.
The EU has signed agreements on the total 1.4 billion doses from seven different suppliers and Sweden is guaranteed 10 to 16 million doses. But manufacturer Pfizer won’t be able to deliver as many doses as it initially promised. In January, Pfizer will supply Sweden with just under 350,000 doses.
Those who will get the vaccine first are:
● People who live in special housing for the elderly or who have home care, mainly people aged 70 and over.
● Personnel serving particularly vulnerable people in the care of the elderly, medical care and other care.
● Adults living with people who receive home care.
Sweden not only states that own country with the vaccine, but also administers the vaccine supply to Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Sweden buys from the companies and then the vaccine is delivered to the four countries. This is because the fund used to buy the vaccines is only for EU member states.
– Administratively, we are the ones who take care of the vaccine needs of these countries, Swedish National Vaccine Coordinator Richard Bergström told DN earlier this fall.
The Prime Minister also received the question of whether there is confidence in the government’s way of dealing with the pandemic now. Löfven said that caring for the elderly lacked the right conditions to deal with a pandemic like this.
– It is obvious that there are things we could have done differently and when the pandemic is over, an answer to that question may be obtained. But the fact that so many people have died is a failure.
– I would welcome a political agreement in which we should prioritize the care of the elderly, said the Prime Minister.
When asked why Sweden does not shut down parts of the society, the Prime Minister replied that Sweden already has far-reaching restrictions, including that it should not gather more than eight people.
– Not all countries close, but of course we follow what happens, said Löfven.
