EYAL SHAHAR---LOCKDOWNS AND VACCINES---LESSONS FROM DENMARK

Lockdowns and Vaccines: Lessons from Denmark
BY EYAL SHAHAR MAY 1, 2023 

How much can Denmark teach us today about the natural course of the pandemic and the effects of human interventions?

A lot. But let’s start at the beginning.

Long ago, when the world was convinced that stubborn, unlocked-down Sweden was performing a deadly Covid experiment, I explored mortality statistics in the Nordic countries. My first analysis (June 2020, published in Hebrew) was titled “Lockdown and Covid mortality: refutations from Sweden.” At that time Covid mortality in Sweden was about five times higher than in Denmark.

In my second analysis of the topic (January 2021, on Twitter), I compared flu, Covid, and all-cause mortality in Denmark and Sweden. Over three consecutive “flu years” (October through September), Sweden fared better than Denmark on flu mortality (pre-pandemic), worse on Covid mortality (when flu was absent), and better or similar to Denmark on overall mortality. My analysis was based on data through September 2020.

We now have a much wider perspective on Sweden (elsewhere and below) and Denmark (below). More at Lockdowns and Vaccines: Lessons from Denmark ⋆ Brownstone Institute