GUWonder

Free testing is indeed available in Sweden, but in some parts it’s less convenient now than it was at this time last year. There isn’t generally any actual checking of the presence of minor symptoms by test location personnel; and a lot of the free Swedish testing is self-administered testing with the hired staff more interested in ID and clerical tasks than anything else beyond that and handing out and collecting the kit material.

For boosters in Sweden for the 40 year olds, I’m hearing it will be close to February for many of that cohort in Stockholm to get their chance. I wouldn’t be surprised if Copenhagen will be earlier access.

Booster uptake rates will be interesting to see. With Omicron, some of the “less vulnerable” vaccinated cohorts’ members may even decide they want to wait for newly reconstituted vaccines to enter the Swedish supply chain.

the810

They weren't "more careful" when they had equivalent numbers in Sweden, they will hardly start being careful now because of the situation in Denmark

Swedish numbers are lower than Danish so far and it's not only positive cases but also hospitalisations and deaths, therefore unlikely to be caused by a different availability of testing. I suspect that Sweden has somewhat higher herd immunity due to larger previous waves, which provides some degree of protection. This can fall apart now that there is a community spread of omicron, but hopefully it will be confirmed that it only causes mild symptoms and there won't be any burden on the health care (quite the opposite).

In any case, it is beyond me why is Swedish government so keen to copy Danish failed policies (most notably covid certificates).

CPH-Flyer

The failure in Denmark only happened after the covid-19 passport use was stopped. So you are arguing for covid passport introduction in Sweden?

It does actually have a point to use covid-19 passports quite widely. Mainly to inconvenience unvaccinated people into getting vaccinated. And keeping it fresh in people's minds that they should mind their manners and behaviour.

intuition

While that might mean some tests are not done properly I am very satisfied they take clerical tasks seriously. The New Zealand way is without any clerical routine, leaving their entire vaccination program wide open for abuse. People get fake certificates based on no-name patsys acting body-double so they can keep spreading the virus freely. In NZ you can no longer trust the stats for how large percentage of population has gotten the vaccination. If you ever saw a single point of failure for an entire covid strategy, this is it.

So I prefer 100% clerical and 90% test-reliablilty over the opposite.

the810

Covid passes have been in place for over a month with zero results. Just like in many other countries.

CPH-Flyer

That's the question, I doubt it has been with zero results. But if your expectation is for it to stop a situation that was already getting out of control and being mitigated too late within a month or so, then yes it was with zero results. But I doubt you have the same targets as the authorities then....

the810

It's true that I'm not a politician, therefore pretending I'm doing something when I'm not is not among my targets.

nacho

What about asymptomatic close contacts who are tested positive?

GUWonder

Signaling is a target. Mess the signaling up and you end up more like Sweden with having average outcomes in the pandemic despite having entered the pandemic with way above average benefits.

The free Swedish test’s “clerical” aspect aren’t 100% reliable either.

I wouldn’t be surprised if DNA testing of some of these Covid test kits distributed for use by school children in Sweden wouldn’t have the samples match the school children’s DNA as much as they would match the DNA of the parent(s) accompanying the children at free testing sites in the country.

And in other news that may not be in the news, about that Skane school which was mentioned as having a class c 40% out, they now have gone to remote learning for class of 9-10 year olds.

nacho

Isn't Friday the last day? This week even in DK my grundskola kids are not really having much teaching and they are doing virtual classes from tomorrow and again Jan. 4. When we were living in Sweden, the whole teaching slowed down pretty much after Lucia.

GUWonder

This Friday isn’t the last day. Given staffing levels, I’m pretty sure Swedish schools are more widely scheduled to be open until closer to the 22nd than to the 17th.

CPH-Flyer

Of course signaling is a big part of the purpose. And the value of signalling should also not be underestimated.

The main purpose is to help drive a testing surge, where you get a lot of people tested that has no symptoms, and would not have been tested otherwise. That means you get a lot of asymptomatic cases tested, identified, and isolated. Which in the current stage probably means an uptic in the reported cases, which the opponents would see as zero effect.

Second purpose is to get unvaccinated people more likely to get their shots, and as the validity of the initial round of jabs gets shortened help drive the uptake on a booster shot. With the time line of the reduced validity and the main flow of vaccines, the help for the booster shots is probably yet to kick in.

So overall, the covid-19 passports does have a lot of effects, as long as people don't expect them to miraculously end a massive outbreak in a month.

the810

The last time I checked, using people's basic rights as a bargaining chip by the government wasn't allowed in most European societies. Which is why most governments never state that this is the purpose of those measures. The official narrative (and in most countries the only legally defendable narrative) is that this is meant to make those activities safer and therefore reduce the spread. Something that is not happening.

Furthermore, even if we accepted the outrageous idea that government can limit people's basic freedoms to bully them into doing something that is supposedly voluntary, it doesn't work either. This has been proven over and over again, all across the Europe. Yes, there is a small uptick of vaccination rates when it's announced but the increased demand usually dies out very quickly.

GUWonder

Which basic rights have been used as a bargaining chip by the government in Denmark during this pandemic? Which basic rights have been used as a bargaining chip by the government in Sweden during this pandemic? And what was the bargain?

Sweden is looking at layering on additional measures due to rising numbers of Covid-19 hospitalizations.

Some Swedish public schools have cancelled their outdoor Christmas celebrations for the school children and their families this week and next due to concerns about the infection level. Is the cancellation of such events an example of government using people's basic rights as a bargaining chip into bullying them into doing something?

the810

Please read the thread I was reacting to.

Restricting people's rights to "motivate" them to get vaccinated is legally dubious to put it mildly. This doesn't concern "cancelling parties" altogether but only allowing them with some kind of certificate, even if we have an excellent example from Norway how vax-only event can turn into mass-spreading.

By the way, I'm curious to see what will happen in Sweden if certificates indeed become an option in restaurans. The way I understood it, there is no plan to make them compulsory, but rather letting businesses to choose whether they prefer certificates & no restrictions, or last year's restrictions. I wonder what will prevail.