Experts criticize Anders Tegnell in internal email discussion

The Public Health Authority has previously been accused of underestimating the sars-cov2 virus and acting far too late.

Now SVT News can tell you that the authority, with state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell at the forefront, is receiving much sharper criticism behind the scenes.

SVT News has taken part in an e-mail thread where several experts go hard to the Public Health Authority, which is accused, among other things, of lacking competence, the ability to take part in international reports on the virus and lack medical capabilities.

One of the participants is Fredrik Elgh, associate professor of virology at Umeå University. He says that the e-mail thread consists of a number of people who have long tried to sound alarms but who have not been heard.

- I am deeply concerned about the development. I'd rather Stockholm was quarantined. We are almost the only country in the world that does not take everything we can to quell the infection. This is bloody serious, he says in a telephone interview with SVT News.

Joacim Rocklöv, professor of epidemiology and public health science at Umeå University, is also in the thread. In one of the emails he asks an open question about the public health authority's priorities:

“Does this mean that this is a calculated consequence that the government and the Public Health Authority think is okay? How many lives are they prepared to sacrifice so as not to shut down and risk greater impacts on the economy? ”.

Anders Tegnell completely rejects that the Public Health Authority should have taken some financial considerations.

- We have always worked really hard to ensure that we have as high public health as possible in Sweden. The economy is the second to count on.

When SVT News reaches Joacim Rocklöv, he points out that he made the questioning as a matter of question and not as a charge.

The e-mail thread also lists a number of statements that the Public Health Authority has made since January, which according to those involved must have proved to be incorrect. Among them:

• The infection remains in China (on March 7, Anders Tegnell admitted that his assessment was wrong)
• Quarantine is only needed for those who have developed symptoms (in the same interview in SvD, Anders Tegnell says that quarantine can be counterproductive, but that society must change if the corona virus is spread widely)
• There is very little risk of infection spreading in society (statement from the Public Health Authority on January 27)

The email also discusses a "battle plan" where virologists, infectious doctors and professors should be able to respond to the Public Health Authority and Anders Tegnell, whom they sometimes criticize very frankly.

When SVT News asks Joacim Rocklöv about the language used in the email thread, he says that he does not think it is appropriate with a public conflict in a crisis situation, and that this explains the difference in tone.

SVT has also spoken to several other participants in the e-mail thread, who state that they do not want to enter into an open conflict with the Public Health Authority.

Anders Tegnell rejects the criticism and points out that the state of knowledge is changing from day to day. He believes that the Public Health Authority has good competence to absorb both research reports and new findings.

- We are an authority of 500 people with different competences. There is no one else who has an overall competence that is at our level.