E-mail from Fauci of Sweden reveals debate about plans that have now failed to reach “last immunity”

The newly released email shows that top Swedish epidemiologists are showing how to achieve “population immunity” and limit the spread of COVID-19.

Governments around the world have used a variety of tactics to thwart the destruction of the population by the new coronavirus, but Swedish national epidemiologist Anders Tegner favored a “common sense” strategy over forced lockdown. did.

Swedish citizens were required to voluntarily maintain social distances and work according to family rules. This is a tactic that has been reported to have higher rates of infection, hospitalization and mortality than some neighbors, including Norway, Denmark and Finland.

There has been a lot of debate about the strategy, but the email shows how Tegnell, the Swedish equivalent of Dr. Anthony Fauci, first tried to formulate an approach to “herd immunity.” Vaccinations and infections affect the prevalence of the virus.

Get unlimited Newsweek trials>

E-mail exchanges point to discussions between Tegner and his predecessor Johann Giesecke, some of which date back to March this year, Local.se reported.

It was released following a multiple Freedom of Information (FoI) request submitted by a Swedish freelance journalist called Emmanuel Karlsten.

“I believe [that] The virus spreads like a storm that hits Sweden, basically infecting everyone in a month or two,” said the Swedish national epidemiologist between 1995 and 2005. This is Mr. Giesecke.

“I think thousands in Sweden are already infected. So many are infected, so when the virus becomes immune to nowhere else (so-called herd immunity), everything ends. Read e-mail, March 13

Get unlimited Newsweek trials>

In another email that month, Tegner appeared to brainstorm ways to show the public how herd immunity works, Local.se reported.

“It’s true that the prevalence of illness decreases as the population’s immunity grows,” Tegner wrote to Giesecke on March 19, this year. “So it’s obviously not all that stops suddenly when the herd’s immunity is reached. Is there a way to model how spreads stop?”

After 4 months, the spread hasn’t stopped but seems to be slowing. In Sweden there are more than 83,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 5,700 deaths.

COVID-19 was unknown when it emerged, that is, no one was immune. It remains unclear whether those who contract it are protected from secondary infections.

As the BBC points out, in countries with around 10 million people, the highest mortality rates (population in Europe), despite statistics prohibiting rallying at bars and restaurants and the move to table service (Compared to

In June, Tegner admitted there were too many dead citizens. “If we come across the same illness again…I think I’ll settle in to do something between what Sweden did and what other countries did,” he said. Reported.

Not only did COVID-19 not stop, but the herd’s immunity is still “invisible”, Royal Society of Medicine A study published on Tuesday.

“The virus infection, hospitalization and mortality (per 1 million population) are not only much higher than those found in neighboring Scandinavian countries, but they are also persistent and the time course of the Swedish epidemic is different. It’s clear that infections and mortality are high (one inextricably linked to others) far beyond the critical weeks of weeks found in Denmark, Finland, and Norway. Such blockade measures initially seemed to have been successful in controlling the outbreak of infection.” The authors wrote in their academic analysis.

According to current statistics, Norway, Denmark and Finland are each considered to have hundreds of deaths related to COVID-19.

COVID-19’s health crisis is not over, although some countries are now easing lockdown restrictions and approaching some normality. The United States is the worst affected country, with the coronavirus killing more than 166,000 people.