I found the video production on Sweden refreshing! It is a freeze frame snap shot. Difficult to distill and freeze the dynamic world - but interesting and thought provoking!
Shortly after it was produced, Sweden did tighten up in a fairly major way. Group gatherings were highly restricted and schooling above 13 years was impacted. Covid transmission was very high in January and the rebel Swedish government changed course and acted more in line with the world majority viewpoint.
The hard logic of experience up to that point, as pointed out in the video, gives a comparison between Sweden and other countries that were far more restrictive. Sweden did as well or better on the disease front without the drastic collateral damage that was triggered just about everywhere else. I am reminded of the E B White story of the Pruit family as illustrated by the NFB video which can be seen as being copied by the covid excitement.
Why did the Swedish government switch tactics? Will their action stand the test of time? Did authorities act due to media and political pressure? What does Tegnell really think? Is the promise of a quick vaccine fix impacting their effort to slow transmission until the 'fix' can be applied? Is the vaccine a true fix or is it a blurring of solid reality?
Are Swedes any more or less healthy than the general world population? How much effort is the Swedish public health system putting into trying to improve the basic health of those it is commissioned to help? It appears that the Swedes were wise, in a way, in their policies up to the end of 2020 and didn't over react the same way most other nations overreacted.
Viral wave events kill, but victims are individually judged and most are either untouched or impacted short of death. Why? And why is so little effort, in a world that supposedly values true science, put into figuring out why - and then trying to do something about it? When I am in a food store and see the goods on the shelves and in the outgoing shopping carts, when I see agricultural practices, when I see the shelves of pharmacies and read stats on medication and drug consumption, I marvel at how few people are dropped by viral judgement waves. And I marvel at how funds are so freely pumped into reactive efforts to deal with all diseases while preventative policies are ignored and in some cases, even vilified.
For thinking individuals, I do feel that wallowing a bit in the Swedish video and then thinking about how it relates to the worldwide covid reaction as an analogy with the E B White animation, is a worthwhile exercise. Then have a look at the Elizabeth Seger BBC article (I have labelled it 'George Orwell?' for good reason) and think about freedom of thought and freedom of speech and what is true news and false news. Is Liz to be trusted at making the call? How does the covid virus stand out from many previous virus waves other than due to the level of associated panic?
And where will we be in a year? Will the vaccination effort be a flop and will the disease fade away on its own - as per previous, seemingly forgotten, viral waves? Now - - the collateral damage? Seems when you burn your house down, nature doesn't apply some hidden mechanism to restore that reality!
