Conor Stewart
Research expert covering health & pharmaceuticals in the UK & Europe
Get in touch with us nowSweden drew attention throughout the first wave of the pandemic due to the way it has tackled the crisis. Compared to its Nordic neighbors, Sweden took gentler measures and did not implement a strict lockdown. The Swedish government sought to encourage social distancing through recommendations rather than strict rules enforced by law. Following this strategy caused a great amount of debate both within and outside Sweden. As of March 20, 2022, Sweden had recorded over 23,993 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population. On the other hand, Iceland and Denmark now had among the highest rates in Europe. Although, as of March 2022, Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Denmark had recorded remarkably low rates of COVID-19 deaths compared to the rest of Europe.
As of July 21, 2022, Iceland and Denmark had both managed to fully vaccinate around 92 percent of their respective populations against COVID-19. Norway had also managed to vaccinate over 91 percent of adults. By July 2022, almost 60 million vaccine doses had been administered throughout the Nordic countries. Vaccines from five different manufacturers have been distributed and used in the region; Comirnaty/BioNTech, Moderna, Vaxzevria (previously called Astra-Zeneca), Nuvaxovid, and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson.
