The problem is, after the country has resisted the lockdown and let the virus spread to most of its population, it is not in science whether immunity is emerging in Sweden at all.
U.K. Despite experiencing a record number of daily infections, Johnson has tightened only a few restrictions, emphasizing personal responsibility to stop the viral transmission carried out by Swedish authorities. The most significant change in the rules is the 10 a.m. curfew for pubs, bars and restrooms, forcing them to close an hour earlier than usual. As in Sweden, in the same way, only table service is allowed to avoid people lining up at bars to order meals and drinks.
With most people in the Western world going into lockdown in the spring, Sweden’s reaction was an outlet. He advised his citizens to practice only social distance and personal hygiene. Sweden does not generally blend into public health and politics, and it does not generally use legislation to influence behavior to protect people’s health. So he rents his bars and rest restaurants as well as schools under-16s open, as other countries shut him down.
But even the Swedish government now acknowledges that this has contributed to the shock of more than 5,800 deaths in about 10 million countries. Most of these deaths have occurred in care homes for the elderly in Sweden.
Dominique Rabe, the UK’s foreign secretary, insisted the comparison of the UK’s new measures with Sweden was a misconduct, while a Downing Street spokesman confirmed to CNN that the prime minister had consulted two days before the announcement of Sweden’s response architect, Anders Tagnell. A change in Swedish style.
The spokesman said the prime minister had presented various scientific opinions over the weekend and on Sunday he had taken evidence from several scientists to prepare a package of measures he had taken. “There was an opportunity for people to give free advice.”
The discussion of mob immunity re-emerges
It is too early to declare victory in Sweden, and the country’s officials are also making it clear that they are not out of the jungle.
But Sweden has seen a surge in recent weeks, and Tagnell himself has admitted that authorities can now recommend imposing stricter restrictions locally and wearing masks in public areas, like shops, for the first time since the virus. Arrived – something he had spoken against doing for months. Last Thursday, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lફfven called the increase in cases “worrying.”
Sweden’s public health agency denied that the country was backpacking its approach, telling CNN in an email that it was always prepared to advise the use of masks and ban them in certain situations.
But with recent interest in Sweden returning to the discussion on “flock immunity”, the idea is that if a certain percentage of your population is immune to a virus, the virus will not be able to transmit easily and eventually die. Scientists say that many viruses can be counteracted in this way when 60-70% of the population is immune, but they are usually acquired through vaccines.
During epidemics, much of the discussion about the immune system has focused on antibodies, but researchers are also focusing on T cells, which can fight off the virus after infection and also play a role in immunity.
Immunologist Cecilia Sederberg-Néklér, who is also from the Karolinska Institute but did not work on the study, warned that there was no clear evidence yet that what happened in the test tube actually came out in real life. In other words, no one knows for sure that having T cell reactions to the virus in your blood means that they will help a person infected with the novel coronavirus.
Indicates that something else – perhaps a past infection with the same virus – caused this reaction, and possibly some slight immunity.
“There’s a sign that something is present in the population before the virus came, and the question is, does it help us?” He told CNN. Said.
She explained that T cells were like “trained soldiers” who had been at risk before and were “called back” when faced with the same or similar threat again.
“What’s happening in those test tubes – you remember the reaction and then the reaction against SARS-Cove 2, but if they had been taught that before the virus existed, they must have been trained by something else.” The only argument is that we probably have ‘cross immunity’. However, does it protect us? We have no idea. “
Another problem with letting the virus spread in the population is that, even if you protect sensitive people, it can have long-term health consequences, Cederberg-Knockler said.
“We know that at least 10% of people are chronically ill, and even five to six months after being infected they can’t get out of bed. They can’t work at work, they can’t work at school,” said Cederberg-Knockler. Said.
X factor
It is impossible to know what is behind the low rate of infection until there is solid evidence that the immune system is actually building up in Sweden.
There are social factors that can have an impact.
Sweden’s cities are much less dense than the UK and US, for example, yet there is no consensus on what density plays a role in the spread of Covid-19.
In Sweden, if you have any symptoms of a cold, you are advised to stay at home for two weeks. Whether you are a banker, teacher or bus driver, Sweden’s strong social security net means that a person is paid their full salary during this period.
It is dangerous to impose Sweden’s model Dell on the UK with its various systems and cultural practices, experts warned on Friday.
In a briefing, the group argued that the UK could be more susceptible to the virus than Sweden if restrictions were lifted. The UK generally has high economic pressures. Residents spend more of their income on housing and unemployment benefits, for example, which can influence people’s risk-taking behavior.
Combined notes, air pollution in the UK, which studies show that can be linked to the severity of the infection. And just as there are concerns about school outbreaks, class size can be a factor if social distance is needed. The average class size in public primary schools in the UK is 27, while in Sweden, it is 20.
And just as Swedes generally trust officials, people there have largely followed government guidelines and social behavior has changed voluntarily.
Professor John Edmunds, who advised the government in its cowardly response, said on Sky News that the measures announced by Johnson last week were as dangerous as “speeding up a mountain in the valley”. But he told CNN. He said that there are still some valuable lessons to be learned from Sweden.
“There is a lot to learn from Sweden from the benefits of supporting people to do the right thing, by adopting a consistent long-term strategy with stable static messaging,” he said.
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