During the coronavirus crisis, citizens’ rights and freedoms were severely restricted and many people suffered from mental illness or were pressured to get vaccinated with the experimental mRNA vaccine or risk losing their jobs.
However, Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed (KD) now promises that more “pandemics” are to be expected and that Swedish authorities will then act more “forcefully” than last time.
Although Sweden, unlike many other countries, did not completely shut down society during COVID-19, the decisions of those in power had a major impact on the lives of individual citizens.
Public gatherings were banned or severely restricted, restraining orders were imposed on nursing homes, and vaccination requirements were introduced in a wide range of public workplaces – sometimes even for existing staff.
Citizens were encouraged – or forced – to wear face masks, and special “vaccine passports” were introduced where only those who could prove they had been injected were allowed access to travel, cultural and sporting events – while unvaccinated people remained banned.
The coronavirus depression, combined with widespread and legitimate concerns about the harmful health effects of the vaccine, also led to widespread protests in several Swedish cities, with participants claiming that a kind of medical apartheid society was being introduced.
“Likely to recur”
In February 2022, the last restrictions were removed – but some groups are still encouraged to take so-called booster doses, and Jakob Forssmed is careful to point out that the government expects more “pandemics” in the future.
– A pandemic is not something we have put behind us. It is something that is likely to recur, he says in an interview with the Bonnier newspaper DN.
The Minister of Health and Social Affairs claims that Swedish authorities were not prepared when covid came and that next time they will take action right from the start.
– One obvious lesson is that Sweden could have acted more decisively at the start of the pandemic.
Vaccine can be purchased at EU level
Among other things, the government is developing a “national pandemic strategy”, which is described as “a binder that you can take off the bookshelf to see who is doing what in this situation“. The Public Health Agency of Sweden will also have a much larger and more active role in the future.
– The Public Health Agency must have the capacity to act proactively in crisis situations and be decisive. This is very important in this type of situation.
Forssmed argues that Sweden is “better equipped today” and believes that this also applies at EU level, as several supranational authorities have been set up to deal with alleged international health threats. The fact that vaccines and medicines can now be purchased jointly by EU countries is also said to be a positive change.
The Minister for Health and Social Affairs is keen to stress that Swedes cannot put COVID-19 behind them, but rather must be prepared for a new “pandemic” to hit Sweden in the future.
– Out of respect for those who died and were severely affected, we need to keep their memories alive and try to be better prepared next time, it states.
Enormous negative effects
The Nordic Times has closely followed the consequences of the covid policy in Sweden and internationally.
It has since emerged that the mRNA vaccine was associated with major risks and a large number of deaths linked to these have also been reported around the world.
Furthermore, the lockdown policy not only led to enormous economic suffering, bankruptcies and crashed economies – but also to a sharp increase in mental illness – not least among children and young people, whose lives were radically changed by the politicians’ decisions.
