ABSTRACT
The chapter critically discusses the underlying assumptions of the Swedish Covid-19 response. The focus is on simple back-of-the-envelope estimates using the knowledge available already well before the pandemic reached Sweden. Clearly such elementary considerations should have alarmed any analytically minded observer that the goal of not overwhelming the health care system while letting the infection spread at a controlled rate to achieve population immunity was unrealistic. The time scale would have been, even in an idealised situation with perfect immunity, several years or even decades rather than the communicated few weeks or months. Moreover the chapter explores the impossibility of shielding risk groups while letting the disease run through the society, as well as the false dichotomy between freedom and economy on the one hand and decisive infection control on the other.
Second, it traces the debate during the spring of 2020 followed by gaslighting and the denial of the chosen strategy once it predictably failed. Discussing finally the present situation and future challenges, Sweden is far from the only example of a failed strategy. However, the Swedish strategy stands out as an extreme alternative to infection control that has influenced propaganda and decision-making far beyond its borders. The author frames the failure of the pandemic response in terms of the tragedy of the commons and points to similarities between the pandemic and climate change.
