I have attached an interview below with the Swedish epidemiologist and infectious disease expert, Dr. Johan Giesecke that took place on 4/17/20. He articulated a rational and realistic approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic. He addresses the challenges of walking back or sustaining draconian measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to an entire population. He makes the case for protecting the elderly and those with comorbid conditions but allowing the rest of the population to proceed with their lives. The positive byproduct of this moderate approach is to gain community (herd) immunity. This increased immunity will ultimately reduce the transmission of the virus to the vulnerable population. The Sweden approach also mitigates the devastating impacts on the economy, non COVID illness and other social determinants of health.
The British interviewer was excellent in my view. He asked direct and difficult questions but he was actually interested in the physician’s response. The point of the interview was to inform and educate, rather than attempt to advance a particular political agenda -refreshing.
For those that argue that Sweden has paid a heavy price for their approach, I provide the following numbers from the Johns Hopkins Dashboard that follows “critical trends”. Below, I have listed the number of deaths per 100,000 people in various countries.
U.S.: 19/100K
Italy: 46/100K
UK: 40/100K
Spain: 52/100K
Belgium: 66/100K
France: 36/100K
Netherlands: 27/100K
Switzerland: 20/100K
Ireland: 25/100K
All of the countries above have had more restrictive policies than Sweden. Sweden has be severely criticized by the WHO and other countries for their approach. As of today, Sweden’s death rate is 25/100K.
John Powell M.D.
Dr. Giesecke’ s interview link is below.