Press conferences of the Swedish Public Health Agency are held for one year.

– It is possible that the pandemic is up there somewhere, we still do not know if we will get there, said the state epidemiologist of the Public Health Agency Anders Tegnell of the House of the Virus in the Public Health Agency in Solna.

It was March 6, 2020. Since then, nearly 150 similar press conferences have been held.

During a peak in April, 1.5 million people attended the joint press conference on covid-19. In May, they were followed by more than a million. Last year, the number of page views increased by more than ten to the Public Health Agency website compared to the previous year, and on average, the agency was mentioned 225 times a day in articles and news over the past year. , according to the agency’s own annual report.

– It has been very successful, because it has had an incredibly large impact. On the other hand, I think the Swedish Public Health Agency could have used almost any strategy, says Bengt Johansson, professor and leader of the Crisis and Risk Communication research group at the University of Gothenburg.

The Swedish Public Health Agency it has placed great emphasis precisely on communication with citizens. With fewer legal restrictions, standard lighting and transfer have become an important tool.

For three months, the press conference was held every working day and since mid-June, they fall every Tuesday and Thursday, always at 2:00 p.m.

– It has become a bit of a new campfire. Instead of a report at 7:30 pm, it is the press conference at 2 pm. This is something you can report on. You get the latest and can make sure you don’t miss out on anything important, says Bengt Johansson.

Several other countries have also received regular updates on the situation, either in the form of press conferences or in the form of speeches and speeches. Sweden, however, stands out because the information has largely come from representatives of expert authority and not primarily from politicians.

State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell has become a household name: the main character of the Swedish crown crisis to critics and supporters alike, immortalized in stickers, tattoos, and a gingerbread. Among others, Anthony Fauci in the United States and Christian Drosten in Germany have become similar media profiles during the crisis. It’s natural for something to turn outward, believes Bengt Johanson.

– At the same time, Anders Tegnell is not like the others. She is fascinating for her slightly sloppy style, her incredible availability and her patience when answering the same questions over and over again. He becomes very Swedish, not so charismatic and never in a tie and suit, says Bengt Johansson.

Advanced epidemiology has been introduced to the Swedes, who have learned about the spread of society, risk groups, and antibodies. The daily press conferences actually started on March 4, but only two days later did they turn into a live public event.

– It’s not a flashy event. And that they are both for the press and for the public can be a bit complicated. Some viewers have noted, for example, that not enough critical questions are asked, while journalists know that critical questions are always saved for an individual interview. But one might have imagined that journalists could be better at setting up a scene, says Bengt Johansson.

The Swedish population has been literally inundated with information since the beginning of the pandemic. In addition to the Public Health Authorities, the government, the regions and other authorities have called press conferences and several times a day have been held not infrequently. This means a break in the trend, before the 2020 press conferences were held less and less frequently, says Bengt Johansson.

– The press conference is an extinct species, so it is a kind of anomaly. It will be exciting to see if this is the only time we do this, or if it will be something new because you have seen it succeed.

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