Agnes Wold defends Tegnell after statement in Aktuellt

When Anders Tegnell, on SVT’s “Aktuellt”, was asked about the differences between Sweden and the death toll in other Nordic countries, his statement immediately drew criticism.

– There are a number of differences that are very obvious, these are countries that are relatively sparsely populated and have small populations. Small groups of immigrants that have been very active in many countries. So, there are a series of differences between us and these that make us much more like the countries of Europe, the state epidemiologist said then.

One of those who reacted was the professor of molecular epidemiology, Tove Fall, who among other things wrote this on Twitter:

“The fact that people of foreign origin in our society have been more affected by COVID-19 should not be interpreted as meaning that we would have had significantly less infection without these people.”.

Agnes Wold: “Apologies on behalf of Tegnell”

Anders Tegnell later retracted his statement, calling it an “unfortunate choice of words” at Aftonbladet.

Agnes Wold, a professor of clinical bacteriology, now defends Anders Tegnell.

When he spoke to Expressen readers about corona on Saturday, he was asked about his statement in “Aktuellt.”

“It was an unfortunate expression, ‘drive’. It is clear that immigrants from certain areas (Iraq, Syria, Somalia) have had significantly more covid and have also died more from this disease.She wrote.

“The fact that some groups of immigrants have had more covid affects, of course, mainly themselves and their families, and I’m pretty sure that most people feel compassion for the groups that are more affected than others. I apologize on behalf of Tegnell, I’m sure you didn’t mean it that way”.

READ MORE: Frida Sundqvist Report: High Infection But Fewer Deaths Among the Rich: “Income Decides”

Olsen: “The hardest hit”

Björn Olsen, chief physician and professor of infectious diseases, says Agnes Wold probably can’t read Tegnell’s thoughts, and neither can he. But he still develops the basic reasoning around what Tegnell said.

– It is awkward to express oneself that way, it is not the case that this group is the reason why we have a lot of crown in Sweden, says Olsen and believes that it is rather a lack of strategy on the part of the Public Health Agency.

But Björn Olsen believes that there is still a basis for what Anders Tegnells said, that people “who live in exclusion areas and are not of Swedish origin” have been exposed to the virus.

– They were the most affected by this from the beginning and of course they also became unconscious. That is correct, of course, not surprising. It has been shown several times that it is a very unfair virus in that regard. But it is not that they are the cause. It is tragic.

“It has a large population from other countries”

This is not the first time that Anders Tegnell makes a similar reasoning. In October, for example, he was interviewed by the classic British social magazine New Statesman:

– The pandemic started differently in Sweden than in our neighboring countries. We had a great broadcast in Stockholm at the beginning, which was much more similar to what was observed in London, Amsterdam, Brussels, which in many ways are more like Sweden than our Nordic neighbors. Stockholm and the other cities have a large population from other countries, which is important as the spread is much larger and faster within those groups.

Anonymous “experts” from FHM develop

Anders Tegnell has declined to comment in Expressen on the issue of infection among people of foreign origin. Instead, the Swedish Public Health Agency has sent an email that, according to the press service, has been written by “experts”. Among other things, the travel habits of Swedes during sports holidays are described as a source of the widespread spread of the infection.

“In Sweden, there are also significantly more people with origins in other countries than in our neighboring countries. This means that more people have more international contacts. In general, Swedes are also a people who travel a lot. Taken together, these factors mean that travel to and from Sweden is more extensive than in neighboring countries, which in itself means an increased risk that the infection could spread in society.”.

The “experts” from the Public Health Agency continue:

“The risks of getting sick are also higher among people who live in a situation of greater socioeconomic vulnerability, with overcrowding and a work situation that makes it difficult to limit their social contacts. Here, people from other countries are generally overrepresented”.

Agnes Wold’s tips for the holiday celebration

Previous report by Frida Sundkvist of Expressen on the subject: