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COVID-19

EXPLAINED: What are Sweden’s Covid-19 rules for vaccinated people?

On the whole, Sweden's Covid-19 strategy means that restrictions and rules apply equally to everyone regardless of vaccination status. But there are some scenarios where the recommendations change, and the length of time after vaccination that these apply varies between different situations.

Published: 28 July 2021 10:04 CEST
EXPLAINED: What are Sweden's Covid-19 rules for vaccinated people?
If you've had your vaccine in Sweden and have a personnummer, you should be able to get a vaccine certificate – but what does it actually allow you to do? Photo: Johan Jeppsson/TT

The below information was correct at the time of publication on July 28th, but Covid-19 recommendations can change at short notice.

Entering Sweden

If you are travelling to Sweden from an EU/EEA country outside the Nordics (for which there are no travel restrictions), you can show proof of vaccination as an alternative to showing a recent negative Covid-19 test. You need to have received your first dose at least two weeks before entering Sweden in order to do this, according to Public Health Agency guidelines.

If you are travelling from outside the EU, proof of vaccination is not accepted as an alternative to a negative test result, and it is not grounds to be allowed into the country if you are not in an exempt category. You can read more detail about the entry requirements and exempted categories in the article below:

Testing and isolating after international travel

If you are travelling from a non-EU country not on the exempt list, you are supposed to self-isolate (avoid all contact with other people) for seven days after your arrival, however fully vaccinated people are exempt from this recommendation. In this context, “fully vaccinated” is defined by the Public Health Agency as receiving your second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in the EU at least two weeks before arriving in Sweden.

If you arrive in Sweden from any country outside the Nordics, you are also supposed to take a test as soon as possible after arriving if you did not take one before your journey. If you arrive from a country outside the EU/EEA that’s not on the exempt list, you should also take a second test on the fifth day after arrival. Again, vaccinated people are exempt, but in this context the Public Health Agency defines “vaccinated” as receiving one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in the EU at least three weeks before arriving in Sweden.

Testing and isolating after a close contact tests positive

If someone in your household or with whom you recently had close contact with tests positive for Covid-19, usually you should self-isolate and get tested. But the Public Health Agency says that people who received their second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at least two weeks prior are exempt from this, as long as they do not have symptoms. People who received their second dose at least two weeks earlier also are exempt from contact tracing efforts, under the agency’s guidelines.

Accessing events, restaurants and bars

Here there is no difference for vaccinated people. Sweden’s restrictions on participant numbers at events apply regardless of vaccination status, and there is no requirement to be vaccinated or test negative to Covid-19 to enter any public venue (although you should be self-isolating if you know you have Covid-19 or if you have symptoms, which obviously includes not going to events or public venues).

Following Sweden’s Covid-19 recommendations

For private individuals in Sweden, several recommendations still apply which are crucial to reducing the spread of infection: keep distance from others in public, stay at home and get tested if you experience symptoms, work from home if you can, and avoid situations where there is a risk of crowding.

All of these still apply even after your second vaccine dose, but the Public Health Agency says that people who belong to a risk group and who received your first vaccine dose at least three weeks earlier may be able to return to work if your job cannot be done from home. However, the agency notes that you may need an individual diagnosis from a doctor to determine this.

Travelling overseas from Sweden

For travel to all countries in the EU, you should be able to use your Swedish digital vaccine certificate in order to enter the country, but the exact requirements vary based on your destination, for example many require both doses but some, like Sweden, will accept only a first dose. You should check the specific requirements with authorities in the country you are travelling to.

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COVID-19

Anders Tegnell: Sweden’s Covid strategy ‘a misunderstanding’

After emerging as the figurehead of Sweden's controversial, less strict Covid-19 strategy, former state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell reflects on his country's path in a new book published on November 3rd.

Published: 3 November 2023 08:37 CET
Anders Tegnell: Sweden's Covid strategy 'a misunderstanding'

“We were not any kind of libertarian paradise,” Tegnell told AFP during an in interview at his publisher’s office in Stockholm.

“We were just a society trying to find good ways to handle it in the most effective way for us,” he continued.

As countries around the world started extensive lockdowns in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Sweden stood out as it opted for more non-coercive measures.

Among some of its stricter measures it did ban visits to elderly care homes and limit the number of people attending public gatherings.

But it never imposed confinement, closed schools or required people to wear masks, basing its strategy on recommendations and individual responsibility.

The approach gave rise to a heated debate abroad, and was at times held up as a cautionary tale, or on the contrary, hailed by opponents of lockdowns.

“Obviously, many perceived Swedish volunteerism as a passive approach,” Tegnell writes in his book, calling it a “misunderstanding,” while conceding communication from his agency could have been better at times.

Nursing homes

Titled “Tankar efter en pandemi” (Thoughts after a pandemic), the book reflects the phlegmatic character of the public official, with each stage of the national strategy methodically dissected and explained.

“I also thought that people actually could handle this themselves,” he notes in his book and adds that he believes his faith was justified.

“We did not force anyone but saw a huge compliance with our recommendations,” Tegnell writes.

Having become the figurehead of Sweden’s strategy in spite of himself, Tegnell recounts his astonishment at the anger and even death threats directed against him.

But he insists that a majority of Swedes supported the country’s Public Health Agency: “It was the first time that our agency had received so many flowers!”

During the first wave of the pandemic, Sweden was one of the countries hit hard, especially as the disease ravaged retirement homes, claiming the lives of 2,780 people between March 1st and September 30th, 2020, according to official statistics.

In his book, Tegnell calls it a “catastrophic situation.”

“We really need to improve the quality of care in our elderly homes, the preparedness for these kinds of issues,” Tegnell told AFP.

In total, Sweden has recorded some 19,500 deaths associated with Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Due to differences in accounting practices, international comparisons are difficult, but according to the “Our World in Data” website, Sweden is doing better than its European peers with 2,365 deaths per million inhabitants compared to 2,767 per million average for the European Union by late October.

At the start of the pandemic, the epidemiologist thought it would be easier to care for the elderly in Sweden than elsewhere in Europe, because they were all gathered together in one place, but in his book he admits he “was completely wrong,” as the homes lacked both the resources and skills needed.

Are we prepared?

Sweden also distinguished itself by never pushing for the widespread use of face masks, and they were only recommended on public transport during the second wave of the pandemic.

“Many countries in Asia have been using masks in public places for decades to limit the spread of the virus during the flu season. Had they been doing it wrong all these years?,” Tegnell ponders.

“It wasn’t my role to judge,” he continues.

“But in all the research, I couldn’t find any evidence that it made a difference for the better.” The scientist also urges authorities and organisations to take stock of the pandemic to learn for the future: “What happened and what did we do?”

The answers and conclusions drawn will be invaluable, as the epidemiologist considers a future pandemic to be inevitable, and likely “within the next few decades”.

“In many parts of the world the population is growing, which means that we start living in areas where we haven’t been before and in those areas there are very likely going to be new kinds of viruses that we haven’t seen before,” Tegnell said during the interview.

Whether we are prepared for the next one is “always difficult to know.”

“I think that we are slightly better prepared than we were for this one. But I think there is also lots more work to be done,” he concluded.

By AFP’s Nioucha Zakavati

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