https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/10/10/the-real-lessons-from-swedens-approach-to-covid-19?fsrc=scn/fb/te/bl/ed/landofthemaskfreethereallessonsfromswedensapproachtocovid19leaders&fbclid=IwAR3Rgmk29ZLII1KTJZXfId4GANh2XXWUSQA9__sdncBmODhhZee6upW--qU
The gist of the article if you can't read it is how Sweden can be used by "both sides", and the real answer there is somewhere in the middle.
Good article. And yeah, Sweden tends to be used by "both sides":
The anti-lockdown side: "Look, Sweden didn't do anything, and they're doing fine! We should do nothing and just get to herd immunity like them! And I'm not going to participate in any damned contact tracing! The government doesn't need to know who I've been around! It's tyranny, man!"
Counterpoint: Sweden actually has done quite a bit, has had clear messaging from the government, has a very high-trust society, and somewhat unique demographics. And despite the claim they've done "nothing", their economy was hit extremely hard and people have had to dramatically change their behavior, which quite frankly is what the anti-lockdowners are arguing they shouldn't have to do. And they're not aiming for herd immunity, they're aiming for an appropriate balance between lockdown and commerce that allows people to still live while doing everything they can to contain spread where it occurs (robust testing and contact tracing).
The pro-lockdown side: "Sweden is doing horribly compared to their 'peers' and if you try to take their approach and do it in places with worse demographics,
everyone will DIE! And by the way, by you even mentioning Sweden I know you're an anti-science MAGA-er and therefore I can dismiss anything you say without engaging at all."
Counterpoint: No, there are certainly lessons to be taken from Sweden. Sweden has somewhat successfully
managed this virus, trying to find a middle ground between doing nothing and locking everything down. Every other country that has tried locking down is ending up with quarantine fatigue, so we should look at some of the things Sweden has been doing, which are mostly [as far as I can tell] evidence-based for how we can move forward with a partially-open economy that balances commerce and safety.