COVID-19 cases and deaths internationally have fallen to their lowest levels in four years. The data now permits a comparison between the controversial laissez faire strategy of Sweden and the more restrictive approach of the United States, which emphasized lockdowns, a strategy also adopted by most of Western Europe.
The Swedish tack relied on personal responsibility and voluntary measures rather than government coercion and restrictions. This attitude, ultimately vindicated, was attacked at the time by health officials and the press in Western Europe and North America.
How did America and Sweden fare comparatively?
The most important outcome difference between the U.S. and Sweden was in children’s education. Prolonged U.S. school closures caused educational damage to students not seen in Sweden. Beginning in March 2020, public schools in the U.S. closed, sending 50 million students home […] as many as half of all American public school students stayed out of school until the second half of 2021.
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Taking into account all aspects of the pandemic — excess deaths, economic health and children’s education — the long view suggests that while not ideal, the Swedish strategy was superior. The coronavirus was so contagious and mutated so quickly that tight lockdowns were unsuccessful in controlling spread. And the longer the lockdowns, the greater harm to the populace from factors other than COVID-19.
