Sweden and Norway during Covid-19: suffering and Death

During Covid-19, extensive restrictions were introduced to force individuals to change behaviour attempting to reduce the spread of disease. Norway introduced severe restrictions, whereas Sweden became known throughout the world as relatively liberal. Forced and voluntary behavioural changes had a strong impact on quality of life.We measure quality-adjusted life years in the general public (QALYGP) during the pandemic by two surveys conducted in Norway and Sweden in April 2020 and January 2021. They are compared with values shortly before the pandemic. The estimated losses are then compared with QALY lost due to excess mortality (QALYEM) over the entire pandemic, 2020-2022, estimated by using life table methods. There were significant QALYGP losses in both countries, in particular among younger ages. QALYEM mainly appeared among 70+. The magnitude of QALYGP losses during the two single survey months was larger than QALYEM losses for the entire duration of the pandemic. QALYGP losses per capita were about one third higher in Norway than in Sweden. This indicates an important trade-off between implementing safety measures to change behaviour, aiming to reduce mortality among (primarily) elderly, on the one hand, and costs in terms of QALY losses among (primarily) youth on the other hand.