Inquiry Chair meets Sweden’s former State Epidemiologist

Lord Brailsford, Chair of the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry, has met Dr Anders Tegnell, former State Epidemiologist of Sweden, to help the Inquiry understand how other countries responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the scientific knowledge available at the time.

Dr Tegnell is a Swedish civil servant and physician specialising in infectious disease who was Sweden’s State Epidemiologist from 2013 until March 2022. As part of Sweden’s Public Health Agency, he was involved in shaping the country’s response to COVID-19, informed by the scientific knowledge at the time.

At the meeting in Edinburgh on 26 September, 2023, Dr Tegnell discussed the approach he took to developing and implementing Sweden’s response and the evidence base which informed his decisions.

This follows a virtual meeting on 19 July between Lord Brailsford and members of New Zealand’s Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned, including Professor Tony Blakely, the Commission’s Chair, and Commissioner John Whitehead. They discussed the approach the Commission is taking in investigating New Zealand’s response to the pandemic and develop recommendations to support preparedness for future pandemics.

The Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry intends to hear from experts in other countries to inform its investigations into Scotland’s strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After meeting Lord Brailsford, Dr Tegnell said: “We need to learn from other countries’ experiences, not to criticise each other or say who is best, but to see what we can take with us and do better next time. There are plenty of things we could have done better in all countries.”