Trouble in Sweden?

Vincent J. Curtis

5 June 20

The editors of the People’s Daily once again think they’re dancing in the end zone when they’re not.  (How the 40 yard line looks like an end zone, I don't understand...)  As I warned on May 20^th, be careful about news reports that confirm the preferred narrative all too well.

The news then was that “scientific study” proved that hydroxychloroquine was not just ineffective in the treatment of Covid-19 but was positively harmful.  I warned that the prevalence of Trump-hatred made this study too convenient and that it contradicted other known facts.  Well, the Lancet, which published the study, just retracted it because when asked for a peer review of their data, the authors went dark.  The Lancet had been spoofed.  The W.H.O. has likewise reversed course on hydroxychloroquine.

The AP is highly anti-Trump, and their report on Sweden fits a narrative altogether too well.  Trump hated the lockdown because it ruined his economy, and Sweden fought the pandemic without resorting to a lockdown.  Hence, Sweden must be punished for being an ally, however inadvertent, to Trump.  The article (and the editorial it spawned) was to the effect that the Swedish model was a disaster and the Swedes are in an uproar over it.

But that’s not what the facts in the AP report say.  When asked, “Could you have done better?” the Swedish expert said, “Yes.”  If he had said, “No.  We were perfect in every way from the get-go.” he would appear unreasonable.  The question elicited the answer that could be exploited.

When asked, “What could you have done better?” the answer was “look after the elderly and those in nursing homes better.”  It turns out that most of Sweden’s deaths occurred among the elderly (surprise!), and the uproar in Sweden is over that.  But Sweden isn’t going to suffer the long term health impacts of a lockdown: alcoholism, suicides, and undiagnosed diseases.  So more is to be written about this.

Sure, the Swedish economy, which is export dependent, suffered from the pandemic, but where’s the surprise?  A small country isn’t going to escape an economic downturn when all its customers are hiding under their beds.  Nobody said that Sweden’s economy wasn’t going to suffer at all, or that nobody in Sweden was going to die of Covid-19.  It was the difference between lockdown and no lockdown, and the difference in health terms was negligible.

Yes, Sweden’s Nordic neighbors are shunning Sweden, but that proves nothing.  They’re embarrassed, and resent Sweden’s independent approach - and they all hate Trump.  (Just like the editorial writers.)

Fair warning again, forget your hollow victory laps.  Watch out for bias confirmation.  When the analysis is complete and cooler heads prevail no country will put up with another lockdown, and it is to an improved Swedish model that we will turn.
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