“It was that pandemic”: – The will to muzzle

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One after another Health bureaucrats and politicians stood up and emphasized that the pandemic is not over, even though Norway has several pleasant figures when it comes to infection, hospitalizations and vaccines. Minister of Health Bent Høie contacted FHI to make sure that the management would correct its own chief physician’s message that the pandemic was over.

The play from Preben Aavitsland was unwise and imprecise. The politicians and leaders of FHI and the Norwegian Directorate of Health are right that the pandemic is not over. Large parts of the population have not been vaccinated, or have only been vaccinated once. We run the risk of the new virus variant Delta getting stuck. Above all, there are millions who have not been vaccinated in the world. Mutations can occur that current vaccines do not bite.

On the other hand It does not look good when everyone has to put down statements from a reputable medical expert. Although FHI is a state administrative body, this increases the risk of cooling the public discourse. The danger that Aavitsland’s statements will make the people stop following the corona rules and advice is small. The notion that the Norwegian people can be led towards the abyss by any bell sheep is extremely exaggerated.

Here we are faced with a particularly Norwegian fear of consequence. If you have said A, not only B and C follow, but also the whole rest of the alphabet. This is not the case in reality. People can think for themselves. Having faith in it also applies in crises.

It’s first out in the autumn that we can settle a status for covid-19 in Norway. If no new and more dangerous virus variants appear, the situation in Norway will probably be positive. Much of life can move back into a relatively normal thread.

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