Anders Tegnell
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Nils Anders Tegnell (born 17 April 1956) is a Swedish
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
and
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
specialising in
infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...
. From 2013 until his resignation in March 2022 he was Sweden's state epidemiologist. Tegnell had key roles in the Swedish response to the
2009 swine flu pandemic The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1/swine flu/influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, was the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918â ...
and
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. During the Covid pandemic in 2020, he became a divisive figure in Sweden and internationally due to his and the Public Health Agency of Sweden's opposition to lockdowns, travel restrictions and face masks for general use, which were widely adopted in most countries to curb the spread of the virus, as well as for his leading role in Sweden's controversial approach.


Biography

Tegnell was born in
Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...
and grew up in
Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...
, where he attended Katedralskolan. He studied medicine at
Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...
in 1985, subsequently interning at the county hospital in
Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...
, and later specialised in
infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...
at
Linköping University Hospital Linköping University Hospital (; abbreviated ''US'' in Sweden) is a university hospital in Linköping, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Nort ...
. In that capacity, in 1990 he treated the first patient in Sweden with a
viral hemorrhagic fever Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a diverse group of diseases. "Viral" means a health problem caused by infection from a virus, " hemorrhagic" means to bleed, and "fever" means an unusually high body temperature. Bleeding and fever are comm ...
, believed to be a case to be either the
Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...
or the
Marburg virus disease Marburg (; ) is a university town in the German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximately 76,000. Having been ...
. From 1990-93 he worked for the
WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...
in
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
to create vaccination programs. In an interview with ''
Expressen (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden. Describing itself as independent liberal, was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or " to your rescue". The newspaper awards the cultu ...
'', he describes his on-site work for the WHO with a Swedish expert team during the 1995 Ebola outbreak in Kikwit, Zaire as a formative experience. From 2002-03 he worked as a national expert for the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
to prepare, at the EU level, for public health threats such as
anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...
,
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
and other infectious diseases. Tegnell obtained a research-based senior
medical doctorate A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...
from
Linköping University Linköping University (LiU; ) is a public university, public research university based in Linköping, Sweden. Originally established in 1969, it was granted full university status in 1975 and is one of Sweden's largest academic institutions. T ...
in 2003 and a MSc in Epidemiology from the
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The institu ...
in 2004.. Tegnell then worked at the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control (''Smittskyddsinstitutet'') 2004–5 and the National Board of Health and Welfare from 2005. From 2010–12 he served as head of the Department for Knowledge-Based Policy. He was department head at the Institute for Communicable Disease Control 2012–13. He was state epidemiologist of Sweden, a title granted by the Public Health Agency of Sweden, from 2013 until 2022.


2009 swine flu pandemic

As head of the Infectious Disease Control department at the agency, he had a key role in the Swedish large-scale vaccination program in preparation for the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, which was declared by the
WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...
in June 2009. Tegnell was embroiled in controversy due to his role in the mass vaccination scheme of 5 million Swedes against
swine flu Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As ...
, which caused about 500 children to develop
narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that impairs the ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles, and specifically impacts REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. The symptoms of narcolepsy include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), sleep-r ...
. Tegnell was reported as saying of
Pandemrix Pandemrix is an influenza vaccine for influenza pandemics, such as the 2009 flu pandemic. The vaccine was developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and patented in September 2006. The vaccine was one of the H1N1 vaccines approved for use by the Euro ...
, the vaccine that had been known to cause neurological issues in the UK and was not approved by the US FDA, that it would have been highly unethical not to vaccinate people because hundreds of Swedes risked dying.


COVID-19 pandemic

On 2 April 2020, while the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
was widespread in most Western countries, of which many had imposed
quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...
measures, Canadian newspaper ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' reported there were "no lockdowns, no school closures and no ban on going to the pub" in Sweden. However, some restrictions had been imposed, for example
high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
and
universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
were recommended to physically close and transfer to
distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...
on 17 March, and on 24 March cafés, restaurants and bars were ordered to allow table service only. Moreover, gatherings of more than 50 people had been banned in Sweden as of 27 March. Sweden's pandemic strategy has been described as trusting the public to act responsibly: instead of wide-ranging bans and restrictions, authorities advised people to
remote work Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...
if possible, maintain good
hand hygiene Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap or handwash and water to remove viruses, bacteria, microorganisms, dirt, grease, and other harmful or unwanted substances stuck to the han ...
, and practice
social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dise ...
, while those over 70 were urged to self-isolate as a precaution. Some Swedish scientists, medical practitioners and physicians were highly critical of Tegnell and the public health authority. Lena Einhorn contacted Tegnell in January 2020 to express her concern over the contagiousness of the virus, and said she was "exasperated" by the lack of measures in Sweden. A group of 22 Swedish scientists published an op-ed in April that called for tougher restrictions. At the time, these criticisms received substantial backlash in Swedish media. In April 2020, the group suggested that 105 Swedes were dying per day from COVID-19. Tegnell disputed the numbers. Several months later, revised government data allegedly showed that the critics' calculations were correct. '"It has been so, so surreal,"
aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Th ...
Nele Brusselaers, a member of the Vetenskapsforum and a clinical epidemiologist at the prestigious Karolinska Institute (KI). It is strange, she
aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Th ...
to face backlash "even though we are saying just what researchers internationally are saying. It's like it's a different universe."' Another flashpoint of criticism was Tegnell's position that there was no need to restrict travel over the school spring break, when thousands of Swedes traditionally travel to European ski resorts and other destinations. In an interview in February 2020, Tegnell said: Despite scepticism and criticism from a number of doctors and medical experts, as well as international
news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...
, Sweden defended its strategy, with Prime Minister
Stefan Löfven Kjell Stefan Löfven (; officially Löfvén; born 21 July 1957) is a Swedish politician who has served as the President of European Socialists since October 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Sweden from October 2014 to November 20 ...
referring to "common sense" and Tegnell saying that the strategy is rooted in a "long tradition" of respecting "free will", as well as the high level of trust and respect Swedes have for public authorities. According to a survey conducted by
Sifo Kantar Sifo, previously TNS Sifo and Sifo Research International, is a Swedish company operating in the field of opinion and social research. Since 1967, Sifo has published its public opinion poll "Voter monitor" () which analyses the party al ...
, the population's confidence in the Public Health Agency increased from 65% to 74% between 9–12 March and 21–25 March. A March 2020 survey showed 53% of the Swedish population had trust in Tegnell, a higher number than for any of the leaders of the Swedish political parties, while 18% said they didn't trust him. In an April survey, the share who said they trusted Tegnell had increased to 69%, while the number who said they didn't trust him had fallen to 11%. The strategy was commonly attributed to Tegnell, who was quoted as saying: On 2 April 2020, '' Dagens Eko'' reported that significant spread of COVID-19 had occurred in
retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home, old folks' home, or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – or rest home, is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Ty ...
s in at least 90 municipalities. Previously, the government and the public health authorities had strongly advised against external visits to retirement homes, with several municipalities outright banning them. A nationwide ban on external visits to retirement homes came into force on 1 April. On 21 April 2020, Tegnell was interviewed by Marta Paterlini of ''
Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
''. During the interview he said that: On 28 April 2020, Tegnell was interviewed by ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
''. During the interview he "denied that
herd immunity Herd immunity (also called herd effect, community immunity, population immunity, or mass immunity) is a form of indirect protection that applies only to contagious diseases. It occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population has become i ...
formed the central thrust of Sweden's containment plan". Tegnell says rather that: Tegnell's statements that the Public Health Agency was not pursuing a strategy of herd immunity have been challenged, however, after media uncovered email communication where he appears to confirm that herd immunity was indeed the chosen strategy. Tegnell was skeptical of recommending
face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks or coverings, including N95 respirator, N95, FFP standards#FFP2 mask, FFP2, surgical mask, surgical, and Cloth face mask, cloth masks, have been employed as public and personal health control measures ag ...
, sending several emails to the
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is an agency of the European Union (EU) whose mission is to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases. It covers a wide spectrum of activities, such as: surveillance, e ...
criticizing the publication of advice recommending masks for general use in April. In January 2020, he said in an interview with ''
Dagens Nyheter (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...
'': Sweden began recommending face masks on public transport in December 2020, as Stockholm's healthcare system became seriously overwhelmed. A surge in COVID-cases and deaths occurred during the winter of 2020 in Sweden. King
Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...
and Prime Minister Löfven admitted they felt that Sweden's response was a failure due to the high number of deaths. Löfven said that many experts in Sweden had failed to predict or prepare for the severity of the winter surge. Public confidence in Tegnell in Sweden fell from 72% to 59%. Political party
Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...
called for his resignation over deaths in care homes. His positions on COVID gave him unwelcome fame. People had his face tattooed on their skin. Swedish hip-hop artist Shazaam composed and released a song titled "Anders Tegnell" on April 7, 2020, portraying his stance on important issues for the Swedish society and youth. He had been frequently invited for interviews by opponents of lockdowns in US and UK media. Tegnell reportedly advised British prime minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
in September 2020, who is outside Johnson's usual circle of advisers, as the government debated introducing new restrictions in the UK. In September 2021, Tegnell said in an interview that he remained confident in Sweden's approach. Analysts found that though Sweden's death rate remained lower than most countries in Europe, Sweden faced a far higher covid death toll than neighbouring
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
and failed to protect the most vulnerable people. On Dec. 21, 2021, Tegnell noted that "Omicron won't change Sweden's Covid strategy."


Personal life

Tegnell lives with his Dutch-born wife Margit in Vreta Kloster (outside of
Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...
). He has three children.


Honours, decorations, awards and distinctions

* Member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences () is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for military (army and air force) and de ...
(''Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien''), 2005. Tegnell was elected member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences () is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for military (army and air force) and de ...
in 2005. His award lecture was on the effect of
pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
s on society.


Selected publications

* * *


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tegnell, Anders 1956 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden COVID-19 researchers Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Linköping University alumni Lund University alumni Physicians from Uppsala Swedish civil servants Swedish epidemiologists Swedish infectious disease physicians