According to new excess mortality data compiled by Eurostat and Reuters, Sweden emerged from 2020 with a smaller increase in its overall mortality rate than most European countries in spite of eschewing the lockdown policy. Reuters has more.
Preliminary data from EU statistics agency Eurostat compiled by Reuters showed Sweden had 7.7% more deaths in 2020 than its average for the preceding four years. Countries that opted for several periods of strict lockdowns, such as Spain and Belgium, had so-called excess mortality of 18.1% and 16.2% respectively.
Twenty-one of the 30 countries with available statistics had higher excess mortality than Sweden. However, Sweden did much worse than its Nordic neighbours, with Denmark registering just 1.5% excess mortality and Finland 1.0%. Norway had no excess mortality at all in 2020.
Sweden’s excess mortality also came out at the low end of the spectrum in a separate tally of Eurostat and other data released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics last week.
That analysis, which included an adjustment to account for differences in both the age structures and seasonal mortality patterns of countries analysed, placed Sweden 18th in a ranking of 26. Poland, Spain and Belgium were at the top.
Lockdown enthusiasts often point to the lower excess mortality in the other Nordic countries, implying that had Sweden locked down it would have had even lower excess mortality. Against this, two things can be said. The first is the point made by Dr Paul Yowell which is that if you include the Baltic states among Sweden’s neighbours – and there is no non-arbitrary reason for not doing so – Sweden’s excess mortality begins to look less atypical for the region. The second is the argument made by Dr Oliver Robinson which is that Finland itself didn’t lock down, so pointing to Finland’s lower excess mortality than Sweden’s is not an argument in favour of lockdown.
The Reuters piece is worth reading in full.
Stop Press: MailOnline has summarised the Reuters story here.
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Not sure it’s much to rejoice about. Her replacement was Minister for Health & Covid Response.
I don’t want the New Zealand Labour Party to be popular, I want them to fail.
I want the people to show to those who want (and get) power that they have the capability to be very dangerous.
But, the people get the power freaks they deserve.
Indeed. I don’t know much about NZ politics but suspect the popularity boost is nothing to do with rejection of covid era madness or any kind of new dawn for freedom loving people – probably just they were a bit browned off with her and fancied a change. I will be interested to see what happens at the next election here in the UK – Tory support will collapse but a lot of that will go to other mainstream parties. I suspect not many DS readers will vote Tory but who knows?
The few clips I’ve heard if this fella – another ugly barsteward – he would give Hitler a run for his money. This one is off the scale Evil. I know it takes some believing.
“ I know it takes some believing.”
Well, these days my default assumption is that any political leader is pretty rotten until proven otherwise. So far I’ve not seen much to contradict that assumption.
My take is that, like Australia across the ditch, and in the UK, NZ have extreme left and slightly less extreme left. I don’t see anything to rejoice about.
Luxon is not conservative in any way.
Yup
The replacement is a lockdown fanatic and Covidiot and Preacher in the Church of Rona. He is just as bad if not worse than Horse Head. Undoubtedly the UberFuehrer will be rewarded by the retards in NZ with a crushing victory, the sheeple crying as they vote thanking the Rona Nazi for saving them.
At least Shergars teeth were put to good use
.
I trust polls like this about as much as I would trust a Midazolam Matt home medication pack.
“A Midazolam Matt Home Medication Pack.”
Oh, that’s Class.
Comment of the day.
Thank you
TGA – I hope you don’t mind but I have shared your comment via WhatsApp.
A little snippet of what’s in store:
https://rumble.com/v26kh7s-january-21-2023.html
Oh please, celebrating one fascist exit with the entrance of another is no comfort. Hipkins threatened unjabbed with ‘we will hunt you down’ mantra. The message is the same, they just change the messenger. If anything, this is more affirmation that the status quo exists and that these..ahem.. ‘polls’ are tools to dupe the public at large that there is consensus. #TeamJames
This is probably just the sort of opinion poll bounce new leaders typically enjoy. Hipkins is every bit as evil and dangerous as Ardern but lacks the public relations skills she once had. I suspect his popularity will decline over the coming months.
By far the best political party in New Zealand is the Act Party, essentially a classical liberal party. Regrettably, its position on Covid has been disappointingly craven like a number of ‘libertarians’ in England whose principles crumbled when confronted with an infection risk. The National Party always governs from the centre and without a strong Act presence in government policy in New Zealand will drift leftwards.
So one authoritarian Covid Fascist is replaced with another one …… and the bullied, controlled, brainwashed NZ population indicates it will forgive and forget.
The idiots deserve what they get. As do the Canadians.
I hope the Brits are wiser (but I doubt it).
Any country stupid enough to vote for socialism deserves everything they get. Poor Kiwis, they were so admired.