Many of us joined various Facebook groups to share symptoms and provide support based on individual experiences. These groups still exist today.

The participants come from diverse backgrounds; many affected individuals work in healthcare. Some have high levels of education, and a few are exceptionally skilled at finding and presenting valuable research. It often turns out that independent, high-quality research is conducted abroad, often at highly regarded institutions.

These groups have been incredibly valuable for everyone involved. Shared knowledge has sometimes helped avoid unnecessary medical visits and created well-informed patients, which healthcare has benefited from. The Swedish COVID Association has been a beacon in providing support and competent public information.

However, the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Public Health Agency, and the Government—who should have been the guiding lights—have consistently acted to stagnate progress, avoided seeking competence, and, in some cases, spread misinformation. Their tone has, at times, been undemocratic and condescending toward those genuinely ill. The elderly who were denied care and given euthanasia instead—who would have thought that could happen? In hospitals, many died because they didn’t understand what was happening in the lungs. Yet, the virus wasn’t entirely new, even if it came in a slightly altered form. It is a SARS virus, and it spread widely in Sweden in the early 1800s. At that time, there were no medicines or hospital care, creating a perfect knowledge gap for opportunists to mislead the public about the virus’s dangers. The trust damage caused can never be repaired.

Through the affected Facebook groups, it has also become evident how low the competence is in primary care and how poorly the laws governing healthcare are followed. As always, all care depends on individual employees. There’s no oversight, no leadership fostering development.

In some healthcare settings, a mocking tone was adopted, and derogatory comments about the Facebook groups were spread. The problem is that these critics fail to understand that no group—whether about gardening, food, baking, politics, or illness—can entirely exclude unserious participants, especially with thousands of members. For instance, a man employed as a researcher at a major Swedish hospital infiltrated a group. His sole aim was to prey on emotionally vulnerable women, which became clear when some members looked into his background. But his employer seemingly hires anyone without proper checks or standards.

Some doctors and nurses appeared in the media, trying to dismiss all symptoms and diagnoses as purely psychological issues. A state-employed woman, along with a patient association that doesn’t handle post-COVID cases, searched several Facebook groups for people to bully and stalk. Whether this was done on their initiative or someone else’s remains unclear. The goal, however, was evident: all sick individuals were to be ignored, especially women, who were to be labeled as hysterical, just as in the 1800s. The only acceptable narrative was that of the vaccine proponents.

The fact that our tax money flowed into dubious pockets for experiments, while those who complied saw their positions of power strengthen at the expense of the population, has led to the current situation. It is futile to criticize our courage—to dare to resist and expose it all. There is only one answer: those who betray the sick, distort with false information, engage in fraudulent research and statistics, have brought this resistance upon themselves.

In every country where democracy has disappeared, it has gradually begun with events similar to what we have experienced and are experiencing in Sweden. We must dare to think and analyze for ourselves, unite, and act with courage.

Elin Norström (pseudonym), Sweden