Let-down as only 7% have antibodies in Swedish test

SWEDEN’S decision not to impose a lockdown may have done little to bring herd immunity from coronavirus after a study found just 7.3 per cent of Stockholm residents had antibodies.

Figures suggest the country had the highest number of Covid-19 deaths per capita in Europe over the past week.

Chief epidemiologist Dr Anders Tegnell said the antibody results from 1,100 tests were ‘a little bit lower’ than expected but ‘squares pretty well with the models we have’. The findings were roughly in line with predictions a third of the Swedish capital’s population would have had the virus by now.

His recommendation for voluntary measures against the virus, rather than a mandatory lockdown such as in Britain, has divided opinion.

Health agency officials have stressed herd immunity is not a goal in itself, and that the strategy was to slow the virus so health services could cope.

But Bjorn Olsen, professor of infectious medicine at Uppsala University, labelled herd immunity as ‘dangerous and unrealistic’, adding it was ‘a long way off, if we ever reach it’. Helen Gluckman, 55, whose 83-year-old father died of Covid-19, wept as she said: ‘Right now, one can’t help but think Sweden has really failed.’

Sweden has more than 30,000 cases and 3,831 recorded deaths – more than three times the combined total of Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland.

But the number of patients in intensive care has fallen by a third since late April and the outbreak is slowing. Health and social affairs minister Lena Hallengren said ‘ most Swedes have really changed their behaviour’.

The concept of herd immunity is untested for the virus and the extent and duration of immunity among recovered patients is as uncertain.