Having recently looked at Danish Covid era mortality in response to an article in the Daily Sceptic by Tracy Beth Høeg, I decided to also look at the Swedish data, because Sweden is often cited as a reason why the mRNA vaccines are not responsible for excess deaths.
This is because Sweden is reputed to have not had a lot of excess deaths during the vaccination period, which ran from 2021 through to 2023, despite having had similar vaccination levels to many other affluent Western countries.
That Sweden had fewer excess deaths is of course a reason to celebrate, because its comparatively mild Covid restrictions have failed to show any worse mortality outcomes overall when measured over the four Covid years.
The argument from critics of the vaccines-are-behind-excess-deaths narrative is that Sweden is the exception proving the rule that vaccines cannot be responsible for causing the excess deaths seen in many countries around the world after mRNA vaccination campaigns. But it is in fact a myth that there were no excess deaths in Sweden between 2021-2023.
It should first of all be noted that Sweden did have a lot of excess deaths in 2020 when the first two waves of Covid struck in April and December of that year. The Swedes were widely criticised for this in the politically-correct media at the time, no doubt mostly due to their lax policy on NPIs.
On closer inspection though, it turns out that a high number of these excess deaths occurred in care homes, killing mostly the elderly. As one research paper noted: “There is a concentration of mortality to vulnerable groups: 91% of deaths occurred among those aged 70-plus.”
I remember at that time State Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell was pressed on TV to explain how this had happened, and he replied that amongst other factors there is an unusually high number of very large care home facilities in Sweden in comparison to other countries. This meant that once an infectious disease reached such a facility, there was a bigger spread amongst the residents.
Anyway, the upshot of all this is that when comparing to other Nordic countries with similar levels of healthcare and mortality rates, Sweden had a much greater ‘front-loading’ of excess deaths at the beginning of the Covid era, which you can see in this chart:
What this means in practice, therefore, is that Sweden had a much higher rate of mortality displacement (MD) – deaths brought forward – weighing down on the rise in excess deaths that began after the vaccination campaigns began. The consequence of this is that although the Swedish excess death curves mirror the shape of those of Denmark and Finland, they lag behind in terms of total numbers, and are only now reaching similar levels.
In fact, at the beginning of 2020 Sweden already had an excess death deficit due to mortality displacement from the previous year which was still being worked off in its mortality statistics, which only adds a further drag to the apparent dearth of excess deaths during 2021-2023. To illustrate this you can see how the very stable death rate jumps up in 2017 and 2018, only to fall significantly again in 2019 when the mortality displacement effect began to bite. The horizontal axis is set at 90,674 which is the 12 year average for 2008 through 2019.
Here are the actual numbers of reported total ACM deaths in Sweden, together with the figure for percentage difference to the 12-year average baseline:
Raw data on all-cause mortality (ACM) for 2023 are unfortunately not available from the Swedish official statistics website.
However there is an excellent EU website, Eurostat, where you can see the excess mortality in all the EU countries directly. It uses a 2016-2019 pre-Covid average baseline to calculate it, so there is none of the usual obfuscation with ASMR (age-standardised mortality rate) or other such models. Such models are now completely out of kilter with reality as a result of the loss of many elderly during the Covid years.
Here the excess mortality is expressed as a percentage difference from the 2016-2019 baseline, which can serve as a crude proxy for the raw data. At the time of writing the latest month reported is November 2023, where Swedish deaths are running 16.5% above baseline. You can infer from this that 2023 is going to be very similar in overall excess death percentage terms in Sweden as occurred in 2022, i.e., a few percent above baseline (when mortality displacement should mean it is below baseline).
In the recent debate in Westminster Hall, MP Andrew Bridgen said this: “If someone is under 50 and lives in Sweden, his or her chances of dying from heart disease were already half that of a resident of the U.K. of the same age.”
This has relevance because if there is a causal link between Covid vaccinations and excess death then it would likely be a cumulative and relatively slow-moving phenomenon. There are some short-term deaths from vaccination which do get picked up by reporting systems like VAERS, but the bulk of deaths may only emerge over time, far removed from linkage possibilities to VAERS, and only gradually pushing the already most compromised individuals over the edge.
Most of the excess deaths in the U.K. since 2021 have been of a cardiovascular nature, so it stands to reason that the better a nation’s cardiovascular health at the start of any intervention with negative outcomes in cardiovascular health, the longer it takes for mortality statistics to show up an increase in deaths and the lower the impact of the intervention. Nations with better cardiovascular health at the outset therefore lag behind those with poorer cardiovascular health in terms of excess deaths.
In summary then, there has in fact been significant excess death in Sweden between 2021-2023, but much of it lies ‘submerged’ behind the deficits built up during the initial Covid waves, and even prior to that. Only now as this effect wanes are Swedish excess deaths playing ‘catch-up’. For instance you can see this tweet on the Eurostat website:
In November 2023, excess mortality continued to vary across the EU. Romania, Malta, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia recorded no excess deaths. The highest excess deaths rates were observed in Finland (40.5%), Austria (20.2%), the Netherlands (18.7%) and Sweden (16.5%).
The similar temporal pattern of excess death in Sweden as elsewhere points to the same factors being in play as has affected the rest of the EU, albeit with slightly different timings and perhaps levels for some of the events. Sweden had lower excess death than the average for the EU during 2021-2023 partly on account of its mortality deficit after the initial Covid waves and its better than average initial cardiovascular health status. But Sweden is now showing signs of moving in the other direction with respect to excess deaths.
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I doubt they are at all interested in covid per se, just in the opportunities it presents, same as everywhere else but in spades as they have form. Why would we believe official figures from China about covid, more than any official figures? The idea that they could succeed in suppressing covid to the extent they claim, in a populous, connected country, in simply absurd, as is the idea that it spread around the world from Wuhan but not internally in China.
As a plandemic it worked rather well
Exactly. Most struggle to understand the motivation behind it. Why would anyone care what I’m up to? I have nothing to hide.
But the control freakery used to be understood better. Some people are broken. The unrelenting void in their own minds can only be healed by controlling the world. Many of them gravitate to government and it’s associated organizations.
Almost every single Chinese student I have spoken to over the years has wanted to work for their government or an agency thereof.
Only the wildest dream of an alternative, escaping to America to earn their fortune in the private sector.
Most of them, by far, take rubbish degrees like Business Administration which they pass by learning the “correct answer” by rote. This does not bode well for the future of the Chinese economy or built environment.
Won’t rote learning always be a big part of Chinese culture (whatever political regime they have) because there is no other way to learn how to read Chinese script with its thousands of logograms?
‘They contained it because they were so wonderfully authoritarian, brilliantly barbaric, admirably oppressive and decisively decisive!’
A. Guardian reader.
The sealed countries, including China and New Zealand, will be where omicron mutates as it spreads when it achieves its breakthrough there. The rest of the world will have dropped most or all restrictions and moved on. The danger is then of a highly pathogenic mutant variant appearing in one of these sealed countries. And so, the prospect of China being the source yet again….
What is leaving me completely stunned is that “the west” is passing up a golden opportunity to get one over China big time. All we would need to do is collectively rally behind the idea that covid is over, that it’s just a flu, get rid of literally every single restriction and return to full normality.
China (and whoever wanted to copy it) would then be left completely stuck. Our economies would boom, theirs would languish. Better still, their people, who aren’t idiots and do get outside info, would start getting very restless.
And that’s when I know the WEF, Davos, “conspiracy” narrative is spot on. Because that open approach would be great for the ordinary people, regular businesses. But that is not the priority of people in authority. Their priorities are control of the population and nurturing a cosy relationship with the giant corporations. i.e. The Chinese model.
I have no doubt that the oligarchs, politicians and technocrats running western nations fantasise about implementing Chinese style governance, and see themselves as a westernised, marginally more enlightened CCP.
They don’t want to beat China with western liberal values, they want to copy China and partner up with them.
Precisely. Western liberal values are a bothersome beast – people get such funny ideas about freedom.
They openly talk about the post democratic age, have done for years.
Poor hamsters.
First they came for the hamsters, but I did not speak out
Because I was not a hamster, but my Mother was a hamster so I ought to have spoken out.
Then they came for the elderberries…
It’s a Monty Python meets Martin Niemöller world we live in now. Soon they’ll be coming for Pepper Pig…
It’s time to send Michie to China on an extended research trip; possible duration about 30 years, with no home leave. As Head of the mission, she might include Ferguson, Whitty and Vallance in her entourage, along with any other deserving persons.
Back in the day when Philby, Burgess, Maclean and all that lot were actively pursuing the agenda of a foreign communist power, they had to keep it quiet because it was considered treasonous. These days, it’s done in the open, be it the CCP or the ‘you’ll own nothing and be happy’ WEF.
The Chinese don’t need Michie or Ferguson so after maybe receiving a few CCP honours they will end up like Kim Phillby, cooped up in a tiny flat ekeing out two bottles of Chinese vodka over a week.
The very nature of Zero Covid policy means that countries following it don’t admit immigrants, so it’s unlikely that any of its advocates in the West would be able to go into exile in a country more amenable to their values.
Not at all like Philby (who eventually found a home in the Soviet Union) or even the Nazi war criminals who found refuge in South America.
I, rightly or wrongly, have now mentally filed the last two years under ‘Virus Hoax – Morons Inc. 2020-2022’, where it will join many other compressed files, for reference purposes only.
2022 – you must be a glass half full type.
Good line. I’m going to nick it.
It was only the epilogue I’m afraid.
Hubris and hamsters – ummm – USA, UK, most of mainland europe for two years and at least a handful for the other 198 (at least).
The key lesson is to convince those immersed in BBCland that the Covid virus was to usher in the passports and associated social control measures, not the other way around. In this china has succeeded, although they already had their evolving social control methods already in place.
I don’t hold out much hope for this as I recall how many people around me only got injected with experimental drugs so they could book a holiday not because they lived in mortal fear of a deadly pathogen. That is the truly depressing part of this, how cheaply they were bought. How readily they embraced astonishingly poor propaganda. Like most people I literally don’t know anyone who died from this thing, and know only two people who got it and had heavy colds with zero longterm effects. Despite my own energetic maskless attempts to expose myself I never succumbed. My Vitamin D and zinc, magnesium and K2 regimen unfortunately saddled me with a robust immune system
What to do? For me the only meaningful takeaway is to understand some people will always be immune to the propaganda. That’s all. Most will succumb. That is the real virus.
Yes, we desperately need a propaganda vax to prevent contagion, it’s not enough just to turn off the tv.
Exactly greenpass was extended by a year in EU!
Vitamin D.
Note the first ‘linked article’ on the Dail Mail article above this one. GoFundMe
“Vitamin D works after all !”
Wow, thanks DM, who else knew?
(Well it was a couple of hours ago but it’s gone now. Can’t imagine why.)
They were like Esau and, in effect, sold their birthright for a mess of pottage.
There’s an increasing number of articles here in the UK reporting about dogs catching convid.
The regime has followed the communists every step of the way over the last two years, let’s hope they don’t even think about suggesting animals need to be culled.
Ferguson already has a horrifying track record on using his dodgy stats to cull enormous numbers of healthy animals in the past.
Avian flu outbreaks in areas that just coincidentally have 5G masts installed, with warning posters on them saying that radiation exposure causes flu-like symptoms.
Avian Flu spread prevention orders are commonplace in the UK; last year it spread from S/W England to cover the whole country but were never revoked so remain in place.
5G installation also spread over the last 2 years….
Evidence for a connection between coronavirus disease-19 and exposure to radiofrequency radiation from wireless communications including 5G
That would really throw a spanner into the brains of the modern, metro person. If dogs were suddenly considered a major spreader of covid, would they finally accept to live with the virus rather than culling them?
What am I saying… they’d plug them with 3 doses of Moderna and pretend that there is nothing unusual about young dogs dying of heart attacks.
If they go after people’s dogs, then that really would cause a revolution!
That would be a dream come true for me. I hate dogs, they are noisy, irritating and shit everywhere.
A bit like peolpe.
You’d think that it would have occurred to someone in China to create a Vaccine whilst it was creating a virus wouldn’t you? I love the “It was in a letter” bit, brings a whole new meaning to Viruses being in the Mail! That kind of thing has made me laugh all the way through with ideas like “YOu won’t catch it sitting down, it only gets you as you go the loo” and “You’re safe in the swimming pool but on the side of the pool”.
I’ve a strong suspicion that any lockdowns in China were strictly performative and staged in fairly random locations for the benefit of the idiot Western media. The CCP would have had the data early on and I simply don’t believe that a regime of this nature would wreck its economy over a possible 10% max increase in all cause mortality over a short period of time. Given the brutality of its one child policy (nice name for mass infanticide and millions upon millions of forced abortions), it just doesn’t make sense.
The argument against that I suppose is that the CCP right back to the sparrows campaign and the Great Leap Forward has a long history of insane, hugely damaging policies of self harm. We’ll never really know.
Indeed – why would anyone think the CCP leadership care much about notionally saving a few lives?
It’s never made any sense to me on those terms. Spreading the foul, insane and evil doctrine of lockdown to the West had its uses though. This is worth a read:
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/china-covid-lockdown-propaganda
Looks like the CCP downtick bots are on the case
They’re famous for snooping and spying on everything.
Up yours you lying sneaky bastards!!!! Snoop on that
No, no. The lockdowns were real.
Beijing had pretty substantial restrictions for several months and work from home guidance for many months.
Absolutely. Many think the CCP are geniuses. They are but much in the same way that Mao was. A genius at taking control, keeping it and abusing the population without them saying a peep.
My hunch is that there is also a strong incentive to hide any infections in the municipalities. The CCP has made it clear that any hint of a breakout will be considered a failure and result in a destructive containment strategy. Therefore, any right thinking citizen or member of the CCP is going to do everything they can to hide infections from the central authority.
Started watching the winter olympics but had to switch off as I could stand seeing mass masking.
I saw a snippet of Women’s Ice Hockey and it was dismal – empty arena. Even in Canada I imagine no-one is much interested in it, so perhaps it was empty because it’s not very appealing to locals, but maybe the whole thing will largely be spectator-free. Elite sport in general is unwatchable for me now – virtue signalling, politics, corruption, whingeing, entitled athletes. corporate bollocks, and now covid nonsense.
Just reading about Nadal’s win made me want to throw something.
Just been for a walk in a University city that has a lot of chinky students, well over 90% of them masked up just walking around outside. They must be reveling in bringing their pathetic “culture” here
Read the book ‘Hidden Hand’ about the slow stealthy CCP takeover of the west. It amplifies the brief details here.
It’s sometimes hard to know whether a particular person is reporting to the CCP or the WEF.
I’ve read it and it just confirms what I’ve been saying for 2 decades. I use to travel with my job and I was concerned 20 years ago about the influence of China around the world. In Pakistan I use to go to the Chinese restaurants as the quality of the food was much better than in local restaurants.
I guess Pakistan’s bitter rivalry with India (of course one of the baleful legacies of British colonialism) will have made it easier for China to puppetize Pakistan…
Clean North Sea Gas v Dirty Russian Gas
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2022/02/05/clean-north-sea-gas-v-dirty-russian-gas/
by Paul Homewood
Saturday 5th February 2pm
Windsor Great Dog Walk for Freedom
behind one simple sign
“Covid Rules Are Barking”
All Canines and Humans welcome
Even if you don’t own a dog please come along
meet Alexander Park (near Bandstand) Barry Rd/Goswell Rd
Windsor SL4 1QY
Stand in the Park Sundays 10am make friends, ignore the madness & keep sane
Wokingham Howard Palmer Gardens Cockpit Path car park Sturges Rd RG40 2HD
Henley Mills Meadows (at the bandstand) Henley-on-Thames RG9 1DS
Telegram Group
http://t.me/astandintheparkbracknell
Zero covid policy is a hybrid economical warfare against the rest of the world! Just look how many items and raw materials we are dependent on. So in name of covid they limit export and collapse the supply chain.
I think in the long run, they’re doing us a favour, tbh.
As I’ve been saying for nearly two years; in his goterdamerung moment bozo will command the slaughter of all newborn domestic pussycats.
This will be his revenge against those who failed to save him at the ballot box out of some ‘pussyfooting’ concern about him eating cake in No.10s Rose Garden.
Constitutional experts and later historians will be living off that for ages as Mirror Group News buys up the husk of Myspace for archive photos of Cute Cats to.print some every day by way of illustration.
“The U.S. Defense Dept developed SARS-CoV-2 in North Carolina. The 4th Branch (Intelligence Community) wanted to use it. The Pentagon restarts funding for development of SARS-CoV-2 in partnership with Wuhan, China – setting up the cover story. The 4th Branch (Intelligence Community) then uses the virus by releasing it in/around Wuhan. Everything after that is simply part of the 4th Branch covering their tracks. Wuhan, China becomes the patsy.”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/10/02/did-the-fourth-branch-of-government-release-sars-cov-2-then-blame-china/
Ron Unz articles supporting and predating most of the above and the main articles series all listed here.
https://www.unz.com/runz/is-the-tide-finally-turning-on-covid-as-an-american-biowarfare-attack/
I hate the Chinks with a passion, people are waking up far too slowly to what they’re all about and cutting them too much slack.
When I think it’s bad in England at least I be glad I don’t live in China, (or Scotland haha). A good article worth reading in full just for the song lyrics at the end. Made me smile, something I definitely need these days.