Hmmm, the Swedish model again.
A fascinating report by Lisa Millar on this week’s ABC Foreign Correspondent, talked about the Swedish model for managing Covid-19. Her report looked at the latest phase of its evolution.
Sweden has taken a liberal attitude to social restrictions because of Covid-19. To see Lisa’s report, go to: https://www.abc.net.au/foreign/the-swedish-model/12407510
She interviewed Swedish social commentators who say hardest hit by this approach are the elderly and migrant populations. And they said those in the double up of this cohort, elderly migrants, now feel they have been abandoned by the state.
Again, Covid-19 points to weaknesses in our social systems. The frailties of medical practice are influenced by social factors. So what we’re getting in this pandemic, in communities throughout the world, is social attitudes influencing disease stats.
Professor Raina MacIntyre of the University of NSW’s Kirby Institute, has consistently argued that herd immunity, such as that being pursued by Sweden, is a myth.
Professor MacIntyre also argues that models like the Swedish one lead to a continuous cycle of Covid-19 outbreaks, and that it damages the economy more slowly than an economic shutdown, but still damages it.
To find out more about Professor Raina MacIntyre’s view, go to: https://kirby.unsw.edu.au/event/professor-raina-macintyre-covid-19-pandemic-update-transmission-herd-immunity-and-exit
For another comment on the herd immunity theory, go to: https://theconversation.com/the-herd-immunity-route-to-fighting-coronavirus-is-unethical-and-potentially-dangerous-133765
To see Good Grief’s last report on the Swedish model, go to: https://good-grief.com.au/swedens-covid-19-story-compared-to-australias/