How did Sweden do so well?

The latest data is as clear as it gets

Sweden has been the poster child of the pandemic. After almost three years, it’s as clear as it gets. Sweden did almost nothing, and they now have better results, than their direct neighbors Finland and Norway, when it comes to all-cause excess mortality.

‘Covidians’ often noted, that Sweden must be compared to their direct neighbors, and cited the first waves, where Sweden did worse than their neighbors as proof for the success of lockdowns. Of course lockdowns might only work in short term, but their long term effects are so bad, that they should never be used.

While Sweden has no rise in excess mortality since beginning of 2021, the excess mortality in the other countries is steadily on the rise.

While Sweden had some excess mortality early on, the other countries caught up about a year later, now surpassing Sweden.

And because I think that raw data is so important, and we must acknowledge that “excess mortality” is based on a model, here’s that:

While Sweden had one to two months of excess mortality, then returned to pre-pandemic baseline - there’s a steady lift in mortality in the other countries. This is a common effect, that can be seen everywhere where strict measures and lockdowns were implemented, such as Germany, UK and Spain.

You can find all charts by scanning the QR codes, or following this link: https://www.mortality.watch

Note: This article was updated on 2/10/2023 to incorporate new data and correct an issue with previously used models for excess mortality calculations.