https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Sweden in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed After emerging as the figurehead of Sweden's controversial, less strict Covid-19 strategy, former state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell reflects on his country's path in a new book published on November 3rd. https://www.thelocal.se/20231103/anders-tegnell-swedens-covid-strategy-a-misunderstanding Fri, 03 Nov 2023 09:37:52 +0100 anders-tegnell-swedens-covid-strategy-a-misunderstanding The Covid vaccine is still free for everyone in Sweden, even if you don't belong to a group at particular risk of serious infection. https://www.thelocal.se/20231016/who-should-get-vaccinated-against-covid-in-sweden-and-when Mon, 16 Oct 2023 12:48:51 +0200 who-should-get-vaccinated-against-covid-in-sweden-and-when Katalin Karikó of Hungary and Drew Weissman of the United States won the Nobel Medicine Prize on Monday for work on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology that paved the way for Covid-19 vaccines. https://www.thelocal.se/20231002/rna-discovery-behind-covid-vaccines-wins-nobel-prize Mon, 02 Oct 2023 14:18:12 +0200 rna-discovery-behind-covid-vaccines-wins-nobel-prize Sweden cracks down on gang recruiters, ditches a controversial dancing ban and gives its government ministers a raise. But when will it join Nato? https://www.thelocal.se/20230628/new-laws-and-ministerial-pay-rises-what-changes-in-sweden-in-july Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:26:31 +0200 new-laws-and-ministerial-pay-rises-what-changes-in-sweden-in-july Sweden will scrap a Covid-specific recommendation to self-isolate if you've got symptoms from the start of next month, but a few guidelines still remain in place. https://www.thelocal.se/20230627/how-swedens-covid-recommendations-are-set-to-change-next-month Tue, 27 Jun 2023 15:04:41 +0200 how-swedens-covid-recommendations-are-set-to-change-next-month The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher. https://www.thelocal.se/20230627/covid-19-still-causing-1000-deaths-a-week-in-europe-who-warns Tue, 27 Jun 2023 15:27:54 +0200 covid-19-still-causing-1000-deaths-a-week-in-europe-who-warns The reading ability of year four students in Sweden dropped slightly more in the five years leading up to the end of 2021 than the average for other EU and OECD countries, despite the country's decision to keep schools open in the pandemic. https://www.thelocal.se/20230516/swedish-reading-skills-fell-in-2021-despite-decision-to-keep-schools-open Tue, 16 May 2023 14:27:36 +0200 swedish-reading-skills-fell-in-2021-despite-decision-to-keep-schools-open A graphic published by the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper last week claimed that Sweden had the lowest excess mortality of all EU and Nordic counties between the start of 2020 and the end of 2022. We looked into whether this extraordinary claim is true (and it is, sort of). https://www.thelocal.se/20230310/fact-check-did-sweden-have-lower-pandemic-mortality-than-denmark-and-norway Fri, 10 Mar 2023 09:36:44 +0100 fact-check-did-sweden-have-lower-pandemic-mortality-than-denmark-and-norway Sweden has announced plans to introduce a negative test requirement on travellers from China, starting January 7th. Here's what we know about the test requirement so far. https://www.thelocal.se/20230103/what-we-know-about-swedens-plans-to-maybe-restrict-travel-from-china Tue, 03 Jan 2023 11:17:07 +0100 what-we-know-about-swedens-plans-to-maybe-restrict-travel-from-china Sweden's health minister Jakob Forssmed and head of department at the Public Health Agency Sara Byfors on Thursday announced a negative test requirement for travellers arriving in Sweden from China, in effect from January 7th. https://www.thelocal.se/20230105/sweden-introduces-testing-requirement-for-travellers-from-china Thu, 05 Jan 2023 10:52:53 +0100 sweden-introduces-testing-requirement-for-travellers-from-china New statistics from the National Board of Health and Welfare show that Sweden has not seen this many patients being treated for Covid-19 since the peak of the pandemic in January 2021. https://www.thelocal.se/20221229/sweden-sees-highest-number-of-covid-patients-since-january-2021 Thu, 29 Dec 2022 16:22:03 +0100 sweden-sees-highest-number-of-covid-patients-since-january-2021 The spread of COVID-19 has increased sharply – especially in Sweden’s nursing homes. https://www.thelocal.se/20221224/nursing-homes-in-sweden-see-surge-in-number-of-covid-19-cases Sat, 24 Dec 2022 14:58:28 +0100 nursing-homes-in-sweden-see-surge-in-number-of-covid-19-cases Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus. https://www.thelocal.se/20221223/public-health-agency-recommends-two-covid-doses-a-year-for-elderly Fri, 23 Dec 2022 11:53:52 +0100 public-health-agency-recommends-two-covid-doses-a-year-for-elderly Sweden's public health agency has warned that a new winter wave of Covid infections could end up with a similar number of patients being treated in hospital as there were at the peak of the Omicron wave last winter. https://www.thelocal.se/20221220/swedens-new-covid-wave-could-rival-last-year-public-health-agency Tue, 20 Dec 2022 17:12:57 +0100 swedens-new-covid-wave-could-rival-last-year-public-health-agency Sweden's government is not planning on bringing in new Covid-19 restrictions or recommendations, despite the spread of infection increasing, according to health minister Jakob Forssmed. https://www.thelocal.se/20221207/sweden-has-no-plans-to-introduce-covid-19-restrictions-this-winter Wed, 07 Dec 2022 10:38:23 +0100 sweden-has-no-plans-to-introduce-covid-19-restrictions-this-winter Sweden's Public Health Agency said on Friday it was no longer recommending that children aged 12 to 17 get vaccinated against Covid-19, citing the "very low risk" for the group. The new recommendation will come into force on October 31. https://www.thelocal.se/20220930/sweden-to-stop-offering-covid-jabs-to-teenagers Fri, 30 Sep 2022 15:36:59 +0200 sweden-to-stop-offering-covid-jabs-to-teenagers Covid-19 has not been classified as a "critical threat to society" in Sweden since April. But the Swedish Public Health Agency still recommends that everyone aged 12 and above get vaccinated. So when should you get your next dose? https://www.thelocal.se/20220926/when-should-i-get-my-next-dose-of-covid-19-vaccine Mon, 26 Sep 2022 13:07:12 +0200 when-should-i-get-my-next-dose-of-covid-19-vaccine The European Commission has recently approved three new Covid-19 vaccines, targeting both the original virus and the dominating Omicron variants. When are these expected to be available in Sweden? https://www.thelocal.se/20220916/when-will-the-new-covid-19-vaccines-be-available-in-sweden Fri, 16 Sep 2022 14:06:27 +0200 when-will-the-new-covid-19-vaccines-be-available-in-sweden Sweden's Public Health Agency has warned of a new autumn wave of Covid-19 which it expects to peak at the end of September. https://www.thelocal.se/20220822/swedens-new-covid-19-wave-to-peak-at-end-of-september Mon, 22 Aug 2022 18:45:03 +0200 swedens-new-covid-19-wave-to-peak-at-end-of-september The Public Health Agency of Sweden has warned that the number of weekly Covid deaths is set to rise, after the number of people testing positive for the virus rose for the sixth week running. https://www.thelocal.se/20220721/covid-deaths-in-sweden-set-to-rise-in-coming-weeks Thu, 21 Jul 2022 18:20:13 +0200 covid-deaths-in-sweden-set-to-rise-in-coming-weeks