Yesterday was a NINE Green arrow day.
Sweden vs. U.S.
Good Morning,
If we were talking about hockey, I think the odds-makers would favor Sweden. However, we are dealing with COVID 19. We focus on the US because we live here and are most familiar with the regions, culture, habits, etc. Other countries have differences that make direct comparisons challenging. That said, we do have some observations.
A couple of our astute readers have asked about other countries and if Sweden, for example, is a good proxy for contrasting the different approaches to coping with the virus. Sweden is principally relying on self-policing compared to the US in which there are governmental restrictions at the federal, state, and local levels. A recent article suggested Sweden has one of the highest cases/million rates. While that is true for the world-at-large, in Europe, Sweden would have the sixth-highest rate behind Italy, Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and France. We also believe that much of the rest of the world statistics aren’t quite as reliable as the US, Australia, Canada, and Europe. In other words, Sweden stacks up reasonably well in comparable countries.
In reviewing the deaths/million, the table below has some pertinent data. Sweden does have a higher death rate than in the US. However, Sweden has a greater percentage of its population over 65 years of age, and age is most likely the most predominant risk factor. If we adjust the US D/M to have the equivalent +65 age group, the US D/M moves to 340 or 0.001% of Sweden, well within any margin of error.
In confirmed cases per million, the US has 4,409, while Sweden has a rate of 2,832, 64.2% of the US data. We would be reluctant to draw any absolute and definitive conclusions to this cursory analysis because, as we know, there are complexities underneath any such investigation.
