The outside world is cheering for the vaccine’s success – and is rapidly building infrastructure to mass vaccinate the population.
In Sweden, the Swedish Public Health Agency warns instead that vaccines are not the solution to the pandemic.
At the same time, voices are being raised that the spring’s test chaos can be repeated with the vaccination.
In recent weeks, several vaccine manufacturers have reported positive results, and most recently on Monday, Moderna announced that they had applied for emergency approval of their candidate in both the US and the EU. According to the company, their vaccine is 94 percent effective.
Around the world, countries are now preparing for large-scale vaccination against covid-19. In Germany, sports facilities are being converted into vaccination stations, which will vaccinate 20,000 people a day, and in the United States, the authorities have already promised millions of vaccinated people as early as December.
Hospitals in the UK have recently been told to start vaccinating as early as next Monday, 7 December. According to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a majority of the country’s risk groups may have received the vaccine just in time for Easter.
From the Swedish side, communication has been more cautious. Vaccination before the turn of the year is excluded, according to state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell. The Public Health Agency’s message is that the first deliveries will be rolled out in the country only after the thirteenth weekend.
In addition, Director General Johan Carlson emphasizes that a vaccine does not mean that the pandemic is over. Vaccination of the general public may only become relevant after the summer. But according to Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren (S), Sweden is not behind other countries in the planning.
– We are very careful not to give an answer that we are not entirely sure we can keep, Hallengren told Expressen this weekend.
Criticism of “pessimism” in the vaccine issue
The author and virologist Lena Einhorn questions what she sees as Swedish pessimism.
– It is remarkable how differently people talk about the vaccine in Sweden compared to other countries. In many countries, there are plans to start mass vaccination as soon as the vaccine is approved. After all, tens of thousands have been vaccinated in the phase three studies, and the results so far look very promising. Then it is directly dangerous to crush people’s hopes. In addition, there is a risk of affecting other authorities and regions, she says.
According to Sweden’s vaccine coordinator Richard Bergström, we may receive the first deliveries before Christmas. But it is then about vaccines for maybe ten thousand out of ten million inhabitants.
In addition, the challenge remains in how the country’s 21 regions should organize the work, which is responsible for vaccination.
Although Lena Hallengren emphasizes that Sweden has a national vaccination plan, the Moderates’ party leader Ulf Kristersson has demanded a clearer division of responsibilities. The M-leader tells Aftonbladet that the government must not repeat the confusion that arose around the covid tests this spring.
Lena Einhorn agrees.
– My fear is that the logistics fail once again, because it was so incredibly late with testing and infection tracking this spring, she says.
“Expectations are huge”
The country’s regions also have varying conditions for vaccination, according to Johan Brun, doctor and senior medical expert at the pharmaceutical industry association Lif.
– How to do in Stockholm and in Norrbotten will look different. I believe that one must have great respect for the regions’ difficult challenge of planning for a mass vaccination. Healthcare is already heavily employed, with an unreal care debt and worn-out staff. At the same time, we still do not know when the vaccine will arrive, what the vaccine will be and what it means in cold storage, transport and other things.
He believes that many countries want to show ambition, even though the real conditions for large-scale vaccination are still uncertain.
– The expectations for the vaccine are enormous. Many countries feel the need to be positive and give hope, not least the UK, which is hardest hit in Europe. Others do not want to give a forecast, as much during the pandemic so far has proven to be wrong. Swedes are generally a bit cautious, we take into account everything that can happen.
The licensing process for vaccines also differs in the United States and Europe. Countries such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland also have their own processes, which means that they do not have to wait for EU approval.
– The USA has “promised” that they will be able to send vaccines to all their vaccination centers within 24 hours after they receive an approval. But apart from the pharmaceutical companies themselves, no one yet knows exactly what the possibilities are, to ensure from existing factories that the vaccine will be released in each country in proportions as different agreements are written, and how quickly continued deliveries will come, says Johan Brun.
The expert: December is excluded
According to Ali Mirazimi, professor and virus researcher at Karolinska Institutet, all countries have different conditions for large-scale vaccination. However, he believes that December is out of the question, even in countries where flags are flagged to start work as soon as possible.
He points out that Sweden has experience of mass vaccination, even though logistics is expected to be a major challenge.
– We have shown that we can do it before, during the swine flu we vaccinated very many in a short time, compared to other countries. So the routines exist.
Therefore, Ali Mirazimi also thinks that Swedish authorities can become more optimistic in their communication.
– It is good to communicate that the vaccine is here, so that everyone is prepared. We do not have vaccine compulsion, but people must want it themselves, and then it is good to have optimism from above. Then regions and health centers can also start thinking about the infrastructure. If we instead say that the vaccine will be delayed, then perhaps that work will be postponed.
Source: expressen.se
