Sverige sämst i Norden: Långsam och otillräcklig krishantering ledde till högsta andelen döda i covid-19

• Main Author: Holmström, Mikael
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Statsvetenskapliga förbundet 2021
• Subjects: Norway; Iceland
• Online Access: https://journals.lub.lu.se/st/article/view/23298

How Sweden got the highest death rate among the Nordics Compared to the other Nordic countries Sweden stands out in a negative way in fighting the pandemic. Sweden has a much higher death rate compared to Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. Several factors have contributed. The initial actions from Swedish authorities were slow with fewer government interventions, restrictions and less testing. The Swedish Public Health Authority became very influential and there were obvious difficulties. They chose their own exceptional way (”The rest of the world went mad”, quote from the state epidemiologist), refusing to change recommendations and increase restrictions. The situation was worsened by the Swedish postcold-war system for management during crisis, where responsibility in a public crisis is decentralized (ansvarspricipen) instead of being a national government task. This system is still in use despite several serious failures during different crises from 2004 until today.