The herd : how Sweden chose its own path through the worst pandemic in 100 years

The herd How Sweden chose its own path through the worst pandemic in 100 years

Johan Anderberg

Book - 2022

"A fly-on-the-wall account of the herd-immunity strategy that Sweden adopted during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring of 2020, as a new and deadly virus spread across the globe rapidly, the world shut down. But a small country in Northern Europe remained open. The Swedish COVID-19 strategy was alternately lauded and held up as a cautionary tale by international governments and journalists alike--with all eyes on what has been dubbed "The Swedish Experiment". But what made Sweden take such a different path? In The Herd, journalist Johan Anderberg narrates the improbable story of a small nation that took a startlingly different approach to fighting the greatest global pandemic in over one hundred years. Fir...st, the government instituted no restrictions. Then, it declined to order the wearing of face masks. While the rest of the world looked on with incredulity, condemnation, admiration, and even envy, Sweden stood alone. But The Herd is more than just a look at the evolution of the singular Swedish COVID-19 strategy. With remarkable ease, Anderberg guides the reader through the history of epidemiology, R0-rates, inoculation, and international organizations and collaborations. He also presents a colorful cast of characters and the ticking-clock decisions they were faced with on a daily basis."--Amazon.

Saved in:
Place a Hold Save to List Email this

2nd Floor Show me where

362.1962414/Anderberg
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 362.1962414/Anderberg Checked In
Subjects
COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- > Sweden.
COVID-19 (Disease) > Sweden > Epidemiology.
Sweden > Politics and government > 1973-
Published
London ; Melbourne : Scribe Publications 2022.
Language
English
Swedish
Main Author
Johan Anderberg (author)
Other Authors
Alice E. Olsson (translator)
Edition
US edition
Item Description
"First published in Sweden by Albert Bonniers Förlag as Flocken in 2021."--Title page verso.
Physical Description
321 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9781950354894
  • Prologue
  • Part I.
  • The patriarch
  • An unclear pneumonia
  • Chinese whispers
  • Desk doctors
  • The casino
  • Giesecke's boy
  • The war
  • The first case
  • The letter R
  • The mathematician
  • The fifth pandemic
  • The hypochondriacal Malthusian
  • Zoonoses
  • The schism
  • A dry-land swimmer
  • Three doctors
  • Part II.
  • Of mice and sticks
  • 100 per cent mortality
  • 'History books are watching us'
  • 'Don't you know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed?'
  • Where the bureaucrats rule
  • 'The world has gone mad'
  • Philadelphia v. St Louis
  • The Mexican sniffles
  • The Swedish Strategy
  • A little dirt is good for you
  • 'A tsunami of a relatively mild disease'
  • The third option
  • 'Go England!'
  • Part III.
  • Professor Lockdown
  • 'Fortune tellers and magicians'
  • Attempting the impossible
  • The hammer and the dance
  • The model that wasn't used
  • A puzzle
  • Calculating in the dark
  • The china shop
  • The pension fund manager
  • A cancelled debate
  • The price tag
  • A balancing act
  • The gym and the cookie jar
  • 'It provides a somewhat bleak picture'
  • 'The next three weeks will be terrible'
  • Part IV.
  • Antibodies
  • The 22
  • The wager
  • Dangerous opinions
  • The truce
  • The East Asian way
  • Back to the drawing board
  • Part V.
  • The Swedish flu
  • The letter T
  • Herd immunity 2.0
  • War rhetoric
  • Face masks
  • Part VI.
  • Tegnell's paradox
  • Downing Street
  • Dry tinder
  • The control group
  • Science!
  • A meeting in Massachusetts
  • Two ominous emails
  • The draught horse
  • The second wave
  • The party's over
  • V-Day
  • Mission creep
  • Mortality and interpretation
  • The prime minister goes shopping
  • A doctor returns
  • Part VII.
  • A year of freedom
  • The results
  • 'Choose you must, and die you must'
  • Epilogue
  • Acknowledgements
  • Bibliography
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

The restrictions enforced by American authorities during the pandemic were largely unnecessary, according to this convincing debut from Swedish journalist Anderberg. While much of the world adopted strict mandates to stop the virsus's spread, the Swedish government followed the recommendations of scientists, primarily state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who believed that the risk of transmission in Sweden was low and successfully advocated for an approach that focused on reducing the pace of transmission while still fostering economic and social well-being. As a result, Swedes "didn't have to wear face masks, young children continued going to school, and leisure activities were largely allowed to go on unhindered." Despite condemnation from foreign media, Tegnell and his colleagues were vindicated, Anderberg writes: "By the end of 2021, 56 countries had registered more deaths per capita from Covid-19 than Sweden." Anderberg's account is peppered with details that add depth to the colorful cast--like Tegnell's reputation for never wearing a bike helmet, and his predecessor Johan Giesecke's tendency to call Tegnell "his boy." This is a fascinating addition to the growing body of work on Covid-19. (May)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Similar Items