Sweden’s Anders Tegnell calls pandemic criticism unfair

Sweden’s former state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell has dismissed the harsh criticism he faced during the Covid-19 pandemic as “completely unreasonable,” according to a report by Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. His Norwegian counterpart, former public health director Camilla Stoltenberg, has echoed this view, arguing that much of the backlash was unwarranted.

Speaking at a panel debate hosted by the University of Oslo’s medical faculty, Tegnell reflected on the intense scrutiny he endured, particularly from Norwegian media. “I think it’s a shame because I believe we could have navigated the pandemic even better if we hadn’t created this ‘competition’,” he said. “A pandemic is never a competition. It’s far too serious for that.”

Tegnell emphasised that Nordic countries—Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland—collaborated closely throughout the crisis, sharing approaches to intensive care, vaccination, and other key measures. “We’ve always had very good cooperation,” he noted, adding that differences in strategy were often overstated.

One of the most contentious divides was school closures. Norway shut down schools nationwide, while Sweden kept most of its schools open—a decision Tegnell defended. In his 2023 book Tankar efter en pandemi (Thoughts After a Pandemic), he wrote that he was “shocked” by Norway’s choice to close schools, believing the harm could outweigh the benefits. “We were quite convinced that there was a significant risk it could do more damage than good,” he reiterated.

Stoltenberg, who led Norway’s Public Health Institute (FHI) during the pandemic, agreed that the two countries’ approaches were more similar than often portrayed. She called the criticism of Tegnell “unfair” at the time, stressing that no one knew the best way to handle a pandemic. “We didn’t actually know what the right approach was,” she said.

Looking back, Stoltenberg admitted regret over Norway’s school closures. “What I’m certain of is that we should have done as the Swedes did and kept schools open,” she told Dagbladet. “It was a frustration.” She clarified that while some lockdown measures were necessary, they were overused in Norway.

The debate also highlighted structural differences: Sweden’s decentralised approach allowed regions to set their own rules, while Norway imposed nationwide restrictions. Tegnell argued that such variations were natural, as pandemics unfold differently across regions.