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null_object | 3 years ago
This ignores that lockdown was a 'side-effect' of covid that affected the health-service, whereas covid itself had the exact same effect on healthcare, with or without lockdown. This can be seen in Sweden, for instance. Not only were death-rates during the height of the pandemic much higher in Sweden than its Nordic neighbors, the healthcare system was crippled by the workload and stress.
People were not getting health-checks here — just the same as in countries with lockdowns - so the effects of late screening on cancers are just as great.
The system is still overloaded, so there are constant stories in the news where people who need treatment urgently, are needing to wait a year or 18 months or more for treatment that might save their lives.
In addition, the stress that was caused by having totally overloaded emergency wards for 3 years has meant that nurses and doctors are leaving in unprecedented numbers, leaving the service woefully under-staffed.
A recent survey of all the country’s hospitals by an oversight authority found every single one of them under the minimum standard that they should maintain, with long waiting lists, people dying unattended in corridors and on floors, and staff-levels that are way too low.
Sure you could have a coffee in town during the pandemic in Sweden. But getting decent healthcare wasn’t (and still isn’t) an option.
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