Unlike its neighbors, Sweden has not imposed strict closings on shops and the movement of its citizens, to curb the spread of the new Coronavirus (Covid-19), and has wagered on what is known as collective immunity or “herd immunity“.
The European country was keen to keep public life as normal as possible, so restaurants remained the cafes are open to anyone who wants to visit them, and people took picnics to the parks , despite more than 16,000 confirmed corona infections.
The strategy is implemented by Sweden In the face of the emerging coronavirus to protect the elderly and those most vulnerable to the complications caused by the pandemic, but to allow some outbreaks in public places, so that people acquire immunity against infection, especially since an important proportion of those who develop coronavirus do not show any symptoms.
Commenting on this strategy, Andersen Thijnell, the chief epidemiologist at the Swedish General Health Agency, said that this plan showed that it is effective, confirming that reaching” Herd Immunity” in the capital, Stockholm It will be in a matter of weeks.
The European academic added, in a press statement to “CNBC”, that most of Sweden and the outskirts of Stockholm had reached a stage of stability.
“We are beginning to see the effects of the herd immunity, and in just a few weeks, we will see more results. In the rest of the country, the situation is stable,” Thignell added.”
The researcher indicated that the data available to the authorities show that 20 percent of Stockholm’s residents have acquired immunity to the virus, and within weeks it will reach (herd immunity). Therefore, we have noticed a slow decline in the number of new infections in conjunction with an increase in the number of tests”.
Thignell acknowledged that the death rate from corona is high in the country (1937 deaths), and the reason for this is transmission of infection to the homes of the elderly, stressing that the responsible authorities are conducting investigations to find out the cause.
Herd immunity is usually achieved through a vaccine, but the latter is currently not available to stem the spread of coronavirus, and scientists believe that “collective immunity” may actually be achieved when 60 percent of the population becomes immune and has immunity to infection.
But some researchers doubt this immunity, and they say that it may not happen or that it is not long-term, that is, someone who develops a corona and then recovers may become infected again.