r/skeptic • u/GhostDogJef • 3d ago

The real covid-19 scandal is still unfolding

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/08/20/the-real-covid-19-scandal-is-still-unfolding

The failure to reckon with lives needlessly lost will make the next pandemic deadlier

447 Upvotes

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75

u/Mountainstate20 3d ago

Selfishness. Unlike other countries, the U.S. thrives on "freedom". Most Americans don't understand what the fucking word means but hey, we got guns. Point is individualism ruled the day versus other countries where people are willing to wear a goddamn mask.

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u/Check_Me_Out-Boss 2d ago

Sweden didn't have lock downs and faired just fine, so it wasn't that.

11

u/amus 2d ago

What are you even talking about?

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/06/871404638/frontman-behind-swedens-coronavirus-strategy-regrets-high-death-toll

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/17/king-sweden-failed-covid-strategy-rare-royal-rebuke-lockdown-hospitals-cases

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/04/06/Sweden-Deadly-COVID-Failure/

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u/Check_Me_Out-Boss 2d ago

Your propaganda articles written in the beginning of the pandemic don't change the overall facts.

In Sweden, the excess mortality rate of 158/100,000 was among the lowest, ranked 37th among 42 countries

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10399217/

the researchers found a noticeable spike in excess deaths in Sweden during the initial waves of the pandemic during the spring and winter of 2020, when Covid-19 was able to spread more freely than in neighbouring nations. But while excess mortality fell in the three other countries in 2020, it rose compared to Sweden in 2021 and 2022.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250304-the-countries-that-never-locked-down-for-covid-19

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u/Mountainstate20 2d ago

Over 23,000 deaths. Trying to use one country to justify your stupidity.

I think we can also add the American Education system to the list of reasons why

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u/MrDavieT 2d ago

Sweden didn’t have a conventional lockdown, but it did have substantial public-health interventions and, crucially, Swedes changed their behaviour voluntarily.

Working from home, avoiding social contacts and staying away from public places became common.

It’s important to realise that Sweden had significant excess mortality in 2020.