GUJournal
INDEPENDENT JOURNAL FOR THE STAFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG #1 MARCH 2021
News
More international publications News
High taxes on flights suggested Focus
Vaccination as a moral dilemma
COMPASSION GIVES HOPE SWATI PARASHAR DOES RESEARCH ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH
Vice-Chancellor
A university for the world HE SPRING TERM is in full swing,
and the lion’s share of activities will continue remotely with anyone who is able to work from home doing so. The government has announced that public sector employees work from home until May 31, and instructions regarding the more rigorous implementation of restrictions still apply at the university. Given the latest tightening of restrictions in the Gothenburg region, all of us now have to remain patient and wait for the vaccination programme to be completed, and the trend to be positive. The 2020 annual report has now been adopted. The year was characterised by the impact of the pandemic on society, and by requirements to transition our operations. It has entailed remote learning, working from home and decreased international mobility, but also more people applying to higher education. It is worth noting that the university has exceeded the funding agreement for the first time in nine years. A turnaround that was made possible thanks to extensive efforts throughout our entire organisation. We have also ended one vision and decided on a new one, a vision that will guide
us through this new decade – a university for the world. The vision expresses the University of Gothenburg’s aspiration to be an international university that takes responsibility for the development of society and contributes to a sustainable world. The emphasis is on education and research of the highest quality, sustainable and knowledge-based development of society, and on continuing to be a cohesive organisation that provides an attractive environment in which to work and study. The vision of the University of Gothenburg outlines what the university wants to be, and the fundamental core values in which the organisation is based. It is the foundation for the university’s objectives and strategic planning. All the information on the vision, objectives and strategies can be found on the Staff Portal. Go there and find out about how we can work together in order to become a university for the world.
Vice-Chancellor EVA WIBERG
Editor-in-chief :Allan Eriksson, phone: 031–786 10 21, e-mail: allan.eriksson@gu.se Editor-in-chief: Eva Lundgren, phone:031–786 10 81, e-mail: eva.lundgren@gu.se Photographer: Johan Wingborg, phone: 070–595 38 01, e-post: johan.wingborg@gu.se Layout: Anders Eurén, phone: 031–786 43 81, e-mail: anders.euren@gu.se Address: GU JOURNAL, University of Gothenburg Box 100, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden E-mail: gu-journal@gu.se Internet: gu-journal.gu.se ISSN: 1402-9626 Translation: Språkservice Sverige AB
News
Contents
NEWS 04–11 04. Great increase in international publications. 06. New operational plan. 07. GU is climbing on international rankings. 08. Many uncertainties in new research bill. 09. More involvement in Europe is needed. 10. New taxes on air travel suggested. 11. Reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. PROFILE 12-14 12. Swati Parashar opes for more solidarity between women. FOCUS 15–22 15. International collaboration behind new vaccines. 18. This is why we hesitate to take vaccines. 20. Vaccine, a moral obligation? 22. It started with smallpox ...
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archer Vaccine rese i nd ra Ha i Al Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
Masthead
We need to be more empathetic HESE DAYS, there is a lot
of talk about vaccination. We publish articles that both explain what the new vaccines entail, but also put them in a cultural and historic perspective. Is vaccination a duty or a right? Is someone who does not want to get vaccinated showing a lack of solidarity, and should people be treated differently depending on whether they have been vaccinated or not? Philosopher Petra Andersson does not think so. Last year, because of the pandemic, carbon dioxide emissions from business air travel were strongly reduced. Despite all misery, the pandemic has thus also brought something good. But how can we continue reduce greenhouse gases in the future? One way is to make it expensive to emit carbon dioxide. The working
group within the Climate Framework has suggested high fees for traveling by air. For a return trip to Shanghai, the fee would be almost SEK 8,000, i.e, about as much as the cost of the ticket. Is this the right way to deal with emissions? Many will probably be against such drastic cost increases, but at the same time, something radical probably has to be done to change our habits and ways of thinking. This issue’s profile, Swati Parashar, points out that we are privileged in the wealthy part of the world, where we do not have to fight for survival, like so many people in the Third World. She is concerned about the growing intolerance and believes that we need to be more humble and empathetic towards our fellow man. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we do not know very much about life.
GUJOURNAL MARCH 2021
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News
Dramatic increase in international articles The number of published articles have increased dramatically at all of the University of Gothenburg’s faculties, statistics from the University Library’s digital services show. The greatest increase is in the humanities and social sciences, particularly at the Faculty of Education. LARS KULLMAN,
bibliometrician at the University Library has produced the statistics, which are based on Web of Science. He points out that Sahlgrenska Academy accounts for as much as 58 percent of all published articles at the University of Gothenburg, and the Faculty of Science accounts for 19 percent. – Of course, it is more difficult for faculties that already publish extensively, and which are well covered in Web of Science, to increase publications further compared to those faculties that publish less, and are going from low levels of coverage. Web of Science, which mainly shows articles from international, peer-reviewed journals, has relatively low coverage of the humanities and social sciences, and even though the coverage has improved over the past few years, this means that comparisons over time are somewhat less certain for these subjects. But the trend, that researchers within the humanities and social sciences publish an increasing number of articles, and in English, is still clear and also corresponds with what we can see in the GUP. According to the GUP, which is better suited to comparisons within education sciences, the Faculty of Education has increa-
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sed the number of articles it has published by almost 50 percent in five years, says Dean Åke Ingerman. – The increase in the number of published articles began at the beginning of the 2000s, and the number of portfolio theses in particular have grown considerably over the past few years. Furthermore, from 2020, education sciences will receive an extra 27.7 million krona, which is a way of evening out historical discrepancies between the faculties. This will certainly increase the rate of publication even more. The Department of Food and Nutrition and Sport Science is one of the faculty’s departments that publishes the greatest number of articles. – This may be because both food and nutrition and sport science are cross-disciplinary subjects, drawing from the humanities, social sciences and science, says Head of Department Frode Slinde. The subjects are also international in nature, so it is only natural to present research findings in English in international journals. A researcher’s scientific publications are crucial for receiving external research grants, but they are also one of the factors in the faculty’s internal allocation model for research funding, he points out. – Of course, publications are also an important part of a researcher’s qualifications, as well as one of the factors considered in recruitments and promotions. Naturally, having more of the
In addition, there is a risk of fragmentation, i.e. that researchers write articles about the smallest breakdown of results. ÅKE INGERMAN
faculty’s research findings published in various journals is a positive thing. But it is also important to have constant discussions about what it means to publish, Åke Ingerman points out. – For example, we need to warn researchers about predatory journals, which charge a fee for publishing and are of sub-par quality. It would also be unfortunate if the many publications in English were to lead to an impoverishment of the Swedish language. Furthermore, within education sciences there is a wealth of journals that can be very broad in scope and that lack a clear hierarchy. In addition, there is a risk of fragmentation, i.e. that researchers write articles about the smallest breakdown of results. This may make the field difficult to review. One department that has maintained a high level of publication over a long period of time, but still managed to improve their numbers further, is the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences. In 2014, there were 84 published articles in Web of Science, five years later the figure was 107. – Part of the explanation may be that the subject of psychology has a long tradition of publishing in reputable journals, Prefect Kerstin Falkman explains. More or less all of our doctoral students write portfolio theses. Our subject is also close to medicine, in both content and tradition, in terms of things such as co-authors, dividing studies into different articles, etc. And for some years now, the department has also instituted a publishing policy, where the quality of the journal is emphasised, which should lead to many
… a high rate of publishing risks contributing to excessive work loads for the individual researcher. KERSTIN FALKMAN
articles being indexed in Web of Science, even if our policy is based on the Norwegian Register. Kerstin Falkman identifies two problems with focusing on the number of published articles. – As being published in scientific journals is the true hard currency for the individual researcher and for the department, the focus on publishing may result in less room for collaboration, communication and application of research in society. However, I do not consider this to be a problem at our department; our researchers are very actively engaged with society. – The second problem is that a high rate of publishing risks contributing to excessive workloads for the individual researcher. This is something I believe may have serious consequences. Eva Lundgren & Allan Eriksson
FACTS Cross-disciplinary citation database that indexes the content of more than 21,000 peer-reviewed, scientific journals, but also an increasing number of books and conferences. The database provides good coverage of medicine and science, but less of the humanities and social sciences, even if more subjects within these fields have been indexed over the past few years. The limited coverage makes the database less suited to citation analyses of the humanities and social sciences. Furthermore, the database’s focus on English-language publications means that Swedish-language publications, for example, have limited coverage.
Publications indexed by Web of Science Top Departments
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Total
Institute of Medicine
577
607
661
628
686
764
3923
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology
452
479
523
604
618
726
3402
Institute of Clinical Sciences
429
493
538
570
621
665
3316
Institute of Biomedicine
294
295
329
312
298
337
1865
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
186
233
191
196
206
205
1217
Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology
189
171
170
167
152
137
986
Institute of Health and Care Sciences
82
113
143
131
156
155
780
Department of Mathematical Sciences
108
121
139
121
129
129
747
The Department of Psychology
84
105
109
112
93
107
610
Department of Earth Sciences
84
98
85
90
102
131
590
Institute of Odontology
77
114
81
103
115
94
584
9
88
90
102
94
88
551
Department of Physics (GU) Community medicine and public health (Inst. of Medicine)
48 63 94 103 114 116 538
Department of marine sciences (started at 2015)
X
27
86
113
106
118
450
The Department of Political Science
47
54
63
81
72
92
409
Department of Economics
62 68 50 71 78 75 404
Department of Business Administration
37
60
48
73
64
73
355
Institutionen för kost- och idrottsvetenskap
48
66
56
49
60
74
353
Centre for Person-centred Care - GPCC
36 52 69 55 59 57 328
Psychiatry and Neurochemistry (Inst. of Neuroscience)
42
41
40
50
55
56
284
Fakulties
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Sum
Sahlgrenska Academy
1721
Faculty of Science
642 733 744 772 785 800 4476
1888 2042
2127
2290
2441
12509
Faculty of Social Science 208 282 287 317 325 342 1761 School of Business, Economics and Law
141 166 164 203 225 219 1118
Faculty of Education
85 154 154 140 149 200 882
Faculty of Humanities
59 102 91 109 112 110 583
IT Faculty
7
35
26
37
31
43
179
Other GU sections
4
21
32
19
24
29
139
Faculty of Fine Applied and Performing Arts
1 5 3 5 9 11 34
Source: Lars Kullman, Digital Media, University Library. GUJOURNAL MARCH 2021
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News Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
The current year should be seen as a springboard to the strategic work that will be done up until 2024, Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin explains.
New operational plan with 75 activities The Vice-Chancellor has now adopted the 2021 operational plan for the University of Gothenburg. New features include a large number of hands-on activities for achieving the objectives adopted in association with our work on the new vision. THE OPERATIONAL PLAN contains as
many as 75 activities within the six focus areas that the university will be working on over the next four years. – Yes, it is quite substantial, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin admits. Each activity has an owner who will be responsible for ensuring that the work progresses well, an idea proposed by the University of Gothenburg Advisory Board. Even though it looks like at lot, many projects or processes are already underway, says Magnus Petersson, Deputy University Director. – For example, our climate framework
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has been in place for a year now, and a lot of our other sustainability work has been ongoing for some considerable time. Calling the document University-wide operational plan instead of its previous designation as a University management operational plan is significant, he concludes. – The idea is for the overarching operational plan to be a matter for the entire university. One such example is the development of a new model for skills supply planning for which the vice-chancellor is responsible. Naturally, it is not about the vice-chancellor coming up with a solution all by herself, it is about working together. That may be accomplished by various task forces led by representatives of the university management. ANOTHER NEW FEATURE of the operatio-
nal plan is that not everything needs to completed this year. – On the contrary, the current year should be seen as a springboard to the
strategic work that will be done up until 2024, Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin explains. The action plan will be an active document and followed up throughout the year, such as by the vice-chancellor’s university management council and the management team. NEITHER IS THE ACTION plan divided into different areas, such as research and education, but separate, traditionally different operations will overlap, Magnus Petersson explains. – It is a pronounced strategy for encouraging collaboration across boundaries. For example, the work on the new communications strategy will not only be done by the central university administration, it will involve both faculties and departments. Some activities require more longterm work, such as the investigation into how to organise our future, flexible work situation. – There is a lot happening there as well.
For example, the Board of Education has already started a project regarding the future of education and the examination process. As the new operational plan is being launched, we will soon also be starting work on the plan for 2022, says Magnus Petersson. – Because of the pandemic, the workload is currently greater than normal for many employees. But despite this, management is tasked with planning and looking to the future: Where do we want the University of Gothenburg to be in the next ten years? That is a very interesting question to work on.
ND OU LD OR EW
THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY VISION 2030
Despite tougher international competition, the University of Gothenburg has managed to climb the major rankings. This is one conclusion from the report Göteborgs universitet och rankningarna. Hur går det egentligen (The University of Gothenburg and the rankings. How are we really doing?), produced by analyst Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson. RAPPORTEN VISAR hur det har gått för
N
A UNIVERSITY FOR THE WORLD
TIO ISA
TH
AN
AR
RG
EO
TH
US
Eva Lundgren
Climbing on international rankings
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FACTS The objectives and strategies for the University of Gothenburg from 2021–2024 have been divided into the following focus areas: • Sustainable development
Göteborgs universitet de senaste 10 åren jämfört med både svenska och internationella universitet i de tre rankningslistorna Academic Ranking of World Universities, THE World Universities Rankings samt QS World Universities Rankings. – Vi behöver inte alls skämmas. Det har gått bättre för GU än för motsvarande lärosäten i det intervall vi ligger i (100–300), trots ökad konkurrens från andra universitet, troligen mest från Asien, konstaterar Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson. Förändringen syns mest på den så kallade Shanghailistan och THE World Universities Rankings. – GU:s styrka i dessa rankningar ligger i huvudsak på de bibliometriska indikato-
rerna. I den senaste Shanghai-rakningen gick Göteborgs universitet till och med om Lunds universitet, vilket aldrig har hänt tidigare. Däremot har det gått något sämre för GU i QS-rankningen. Enligt utredaren beror det på rankningens metod och att de i hög grad förlitar sig på anseendeundersökningar, som generellt har mycket låg svarsfrekvens. Sammantaget är det ändå ganska små förändringar över tid. En liten metodförändring kan få stort lyft ett år för att året efteråt vända neråt. Fördelen med Shanghailistan är att den är stabil, påpekar Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson. – ATT GU ENLIGT denna lista ligger på 155:e plats i världen är väldigt bra, särskilt när man betänker att det i hela världen finns uppemot 20 000 utbildningsinstitutioner. Trenden de senaste tio åren är klar. Konkurrensen har blivit tuffare, vilket har gjort det svårare att behålla sin position på listorna. Totalt sett har det gått sämre för de västeuropeiska universiteten, i synnerhet de i Norden, som ligger i samma intervall som GU. Under samma period fördubblades antalet ostasiatiska lärosäten, från 26 till 52. Photo: SHJGDHJSHJHKK
• External relations and partnerships • Skills supply • Physical and digital environments • Sustainable working and student life • Governance and organisation The university-wide operational plan contains prioritized activities for realising the objectives and strategies. It also defines the timeline during which the activity is intended to run as well as the individual responsible for carrying it out. The operational plan will be followed up on an annual basis. At the end of 2024, this reporting will constitute the basis for the planning of the subsequent strategy period from 2025–2027.
Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson
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News
Ambiguity in the new research bill
FOR 2021, THE GRANTS will be increased by SEK 3.4 billion, which is a ninefold increase compared with the 2016 research bill. All in all, there is an additional SEK 13.6 billion for research in the period 2021– 2024, of which two thirds will go to the research councils. The purpose is to safeguard free research but also to provide the right conditions for the government’s research and innovation strategies. – For the year 2021, there is a temporary increase of SEK 500 million, says Sigríður Beck, Head of Unit at the Grants and Innovation Office. It is about addressing the risk of reduced private funding due to the ongoing pandemic. The University of Gothenburg’s share is SEK 35 million. However, the major news in the bill is the new distribution model. – Instead of the current system, where part of the basic grant is redistributed according to bibliometrics and external grants, a model has been proposed that is based on peer review and the pro-
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Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
Boosting research funding by as much as SEK 13.6 billion over four years is a new feature of the Government’s new research and innovation bill. The bill also announces a new distribution model commencing in 2023. – However, the proposal contains a lot of ambiguity. To get a national perspective, the University of Gothenburg is now discussing different interpretations together with other Swedish higher education institutions and with the research councils, explains Deputy Vice-Chancellor Göran Landberg.
where it is proposed that the Swedish Research Council will receive an additional SEK 1.3 billion over 3 years for infrastructure investment. – This is something that the University of Gothenburg and several other higher education institutions have requested, so we are very pleased about it. Changes in the Higher Education Act have also been proposed, for example international activities and lifelong learning should be emphasized more. – IT HAS ALSO been propo-
portion of full-time students, Sigríður Beck explains. The idea is that all higher education institutions should define their own key profile areas and then apply for grants for these areas from the research councils, which will make an expert assessment. This is a new take on the STRUT inquiry’s proposal for increased expert assessment and more dialogue with the government, which will certainly be thoroughly discussed at the higher education institutions. However, it is unclear how many key profile areas each university will have. – THE SMALLER universities
are probably guaranteed at least one area, but a major university with a broad scope such as the University of Gothenburg should be able to count on many more, Göran Landberg points out. There is no doubt that we are talking about strong, high-quality research areas. The model means that the higher education institutions will be exposed to further assess-
ments, but we hope to be able to handle this without disrupting our operations. External assessments are something we are used to and that we do all the time. THE RESEARCH BILL also
contains proposals for university-specific goals within skills supply, gender equality and good employment conditions, as well as partnerships. Furthermore, five overall societal challenges are highlighted as particularly important. Six new ten-year research programmes have been proposed, as well as continued support for the programmes that started in 2016. – The University of Gothenburg is a university with a broad scope and prominent research in all the areas that the government has highlighted, Göran Landberg explains. We are also used to working with research centres, such as the UGOT Challenges, so this suit us very well. The bill also contains investment in infrastructure,
sed that the promotion of academic freedom should be included in the Higher Education Act, which aligns well with the University of Gothenburg’s new vision, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin explains. Collaboration with society as a whole for mutual exchange is also emphasized and, naturally, we think this is very important. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Göran Landberg is mainly positive about the new bill. – What I would have liked is a greater international focus, not least in terms of European networks. But the bill means a significant increase in research funding for universities, which helps us tackle major societal challenges. There will also be improved governance of our operations and more university-specific assignments, which may of course be a challenge. However, much is still unclear, which leads to some concern about what the proposals will mean in practice. That is why we are discussing this with other higher education institutions and with the research councils, the bill is a national issue that we must deal with together.
Eva Lundgren
More involvement with Europe is needed Not a revolution, but an evolution – this is how the European Research Council describes Horizon Europe, the new EU-funded framework programme for research and innovation. – The programme’s priorities align quite well with the content of the new research and innovation bill. There is also a proposal for a national strategy for Sweden to receive more of these funds, explains Sigríður Beck, Head of Unit at FIK, the Grants and Innovation Office. LIKE THE PREVIOUS HORIZON
2020 framework programme, Horizon Europe is based on three pillars, but now has a partly different division: scientific excellence, global challenges, and innovation, explains Sigríður Beck. – Among other things, the programme highlights six global challenges that essentially are similar to the five societal challenges in the research bill. These include health, digitalisation, climate and the environment. Furthermore, Horizon Europe emphasizes the importance of transparency and increased collaboration with society as a whole, something that is also brought up in the research bill. A NOVEL ASPECT of the framework programme is the investment in five interdisciplinary missions that will create benefits for all EU citizens. This is according to Research Advisor Maria Enge. – It involves climate change, cancer, clean oceans and coasts, climate-smart cities and beneficial agriculture.
Demonstrating the benefits of research is, of course, a way of increasing its legitimacy among EU citizens, who have also been asked to come up with suggestions about areas to be prioritized. The United Kingdom has left the EU but will remain in the framework programme, says Henrik Lindskog, Team Leader for research support at FIK. – On the other hand, the United Kingdom is leaving the collaboration within Erasmus. This is a problem, as the overarching ambition of Horizon Europe is to increase collaboration between education and research. This includes the investment in new university alliances, where the University of Gothenburg is part of the network called Eutopia. Sweden’s share of allocated funds from Horizon 2020 was 3.4 percent for the period 2015–2020, says Henrik Lindskog – AS A NATION, we are performing reasonably well, but we have the potential to raise even more funds when it comes to major societal challenges, for example. That is why last year the government gave a number of research councils the task of developing a national strategy for Horizon Europe. The goal is for Sweden to receive at least 3.7 percent of the funds. The University of Gothenburg should also be able to obtain more funding from the EU, says Research Advisor Joel Jakobsson. Of the approximately 66 million euros that the University of Gothenburg has received so far from the Horizon 2020 programme, almost 50 million has gone to excellent
research, such as individual ERC and Marie Curie grants. In terms of excellent research in particular, we have received more funding compared with FP7, the European Research and Innovation Programme for 2007–2013. We are not alone in this, the same applies to the universities of Stockholm and Lund. But overall, the University of Gothenburg has received fewer grants than in the previous framework programme. Among other things, this is because FP7 was a broader investment initiative where it was easier to obtain funding for basic research as well. The strategy developed by the research councils indicates, among other things, that Swedish higher education institutions need to be more active when it comes to working with the framework
programme, such as participating in expert groups, networks and collaborations, Sigríður Beck explains. – THERE ARE GREAT opportunities to influence the programmes, but to do so, the higher education institutions need to be more involved. Of course, it requires extra commitment and time from the researchers, who already have a lot to do. But the vice-chancellor also offers generous co-financing of indirect costs for EU projects that make it possible for more people to apply. In summary, you could say that the University of Gothenburg is moving in the right direction, but that we also have a large untapped potential.
Eva Lundgren
FACTS HORIZON EUROPE The European Research Council’s new framework programme for research and innovation will run from 2021–2027. The programme is based on three pillars, aimed at - scientific excellence - global challenges and European industrial competitiveness (health; culture, creativity and inclusive societies; civil security; digital issues, industry and space; climate, energy and mobility, food, as well as bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and the environment). The budget is 95.5 billion euros.
Forte, Formas, the Swedish National Space Agency, the Swedish Energy Agency, the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova have been tasked by the government to draft a strategy for Swedish participation in Horizon Europe. The aim of the strategy is for: - Sweden to be among the leading participants in terms of applications granted. - Sweden to receive at least 3.7 percent of the total funds granted. - Swedish stakeholders to be internationally competitive and attractive partners.
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News
New taxes on air travel will decrease pollution Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
Introduce a hefty tax on air travel and let most of the money go back to the departments! In short, that is the premise behind a radical proposal regarding climate shift that will reduce our air travel. INSTEAD OF THE CURRENT
climate compensation, where a small fee is charged per one-way trip, a tax of 3 SEK per kilo of carbon dioxide has been proposed for all flights abroad. Domestic travel will be subject to a standard fee of as much as SEK 3,000. This has been suggested in a draft proposal drawn up by the working group within the Climate Framework. –The current fee has not reduced the amount of flights we take at all. It has certainly provided us with some money that we have been able to do something good with, but we need to step up our game! The fee for internal flights must be a disincentive, it must be costly and act as a deterrent, says Fredrik Högberg, secretary of the working group and environmental coordinator at the Gothenburg Centre for Sustainable Development, GMV. The idea of climate shift is to create incentives to get more people to choose climate-smart alternatives to travel that uses fossil fuels. – By introducing a fee for
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To mitigate the effects, the money can be used to encourage employees to choose the train for travel within Europe. FREDRIK HÖGBERG
travel that uses fossil fuels, we are demonstrating that we take the climate challenge seriously. When there are no alternatives other than flying, the money can be used to subsidize climate-smart initiatives that together reduce the unit’s climate footprint. FOR TRAVEL TO the other side of the globe, it would, according to the current proposal, entail a significant sum of money. For a return trip to Shanghai, the fee would be almost SEK 8,000, i.e, about as much as the cost of the ticket. To Tokyo SEK 9,000 and to Brisbane SEK 12,800. In a normal year (2019), it would generate SEK 20 million, which almost corres-
CO2 emissions from work travels (tonnes)
2019
2020
Flight < 500 km
497,2
126,9
Flight > 500 km
7281,6
1886,3
Train
0,017 0,008
Car(Own car, car pool, taxi) 167,6 93,78 Bus
1,7 0,243
Sum
7948,3
2107,2
ponds to the cost of all air travel. The model is based on 20 percent of the funds going to a central fund for investments that will benefit the entire university. The remaining 80 percent would go back to the departments’ budgets in order to carry out initiatives to reduce emissions. Precisely how it will work and who will manage the payment system is not clear. – TO MITIGATE THE effects, the money can be used to encourage employees to choose the train for travel within Europe, pehaps adding first class tickets, additional overnight stays and other stimulating incentives. But if nothing more is done, Fredrik Högberg fears that travel will return to normal levels as soon as possible. – I believe there will be a rebound effect, even with the extra fee that is currently being charged. What we have learned during the pandemic is that the organisation will not collapse. Sure, there is a bit of friction here and there, but if
we seriously want to reduce our climate impact, it might be the price we have to pay. The proposal has recently been presented to management teams at the highest level. – This is a radical proposal that is likely to encounter resistance. Our goal is to initiate a discussion at the departments and faculties and the aim is to start the entire climate shift at the beginning of next year, says Fredrik Högberg. Allan Eriksson
FACTS Background On 1 July 2011, climate compensation for air travel was introduced. The fee is SEK 118 per flight and is added directly to the price of the ticket, according to the ‘polluter pays’ principle. Since 2016, all funds were invested in an internal climate fund where both employees and students could apply for money for projects that reduce the organisation’s climate impact. Several companies and municipalities have taken on the challenge of creating a fossil-free Sweden by 2030. Find out more at: https://fossilfrittsverige.se/. Both the Skåne and Västernorrland regions have been using internal climate shift for a few years.
Reduced emissions of carbon dioxide This year, carbon dioxide emissions from business air travel will be reduced by at least a quarter, compared to 2019. This is the major news in the extended action plan for sustainable development that comes into effect this year. – We will take more responsibility for reducing our climate impact, says Jan Pettersson, Director of the Gothenburg Centre for Sustainable Development, GMV. THE NEW DECISION, taken by
the vice-chancellor, is a tightening of the previous target of 6 percent. That goal could be met by a wide margin, as air traffic was largely at a standstill for most of 2020. – We chose to stick to 2019 as our starting point, as 2020 was a very special year. We have greatly reduced our travel because of the pandemic, which should have led to a change in behaviour and new skills in using digital tools, says Jan Pettersson, who is also a member of the working group within the Climate Framework, which prepared the proposal. The University of Gothenburg’s demand for a 25% reduction in 2021 is based on the Paris Agreement’s requirement to limit the global temperature increase, preferably to 1.5°C but no more than 2°C. – For it to succeed, we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent every decade. It is a radical transition. Another implication of the Paris Agreement is that the rich countries, such as Sweden, should set
In the longer term, 2030–2040, we must find new methods of flying that do not have an environmental impact. JAN PETTERSSON
a good example. Achieving the goal must be considered a minimum target for us at the national level, as well as for a major state university, says Jan Pettersson. Another reason why it was set at 25 percent is due to a weighting of various factors. Partly, reduced funding in the proposed budget, which was justified by reduced travel due to the pandemic. For the University of Gothenburg, this translates into a reduction of SEK 11 million, which corresponds to 28 percent of the university’s total costs for air travel in 2019. – WE HAVE A JOINT respon-
sibility for how we handle the climate impact, says Jan Pettersson, who emphasizes that the world finds itself in an opportune moment for transitioning to more sustainable travel. We are learning exactly how to do this. – The University of Gothenburg, as a Swedish public body, can be expected to comply with Sweden’s commitments and dramatically reduce its emissions by 2030, and become climate
neutral by 2045. Furthermore, the University of Gothenburg has joined the Climate Framework, Jan Pettersson continues. BUT IT IS NOT ABOUT stopping
or banning air travel. – We will of course continue to travel, for a variety of reasons, because it is good for our organisation. But we do not have to fly as much, and we have probably learned a lot from the crisis we find ourselves in. He points out that the decision has sent an important message, not least to the students. – The University of Gothenburg is very good at sustainable development and the climate issue is part of the sustainability issues. The fact that we are taking important steps to move forward is of considerable significance, not only for the climate, but for all the international students who come here, because it is one of the University of Gothenburg’s key profile areas. Instead of flying, he thinks more people should be encouraged to choose other modes of transport, such
as travelling by train within Europe. The most important thing is to dramatically reduce emissions. This is not something that is optional, Jan Pettersson points out. – BREAKING OUR dependence on fossil fuels is extremely important in the short term. Biofuels have been highlighted as a good environmental alternative, but they also have a major impact on the climate and health. In the longer term, 2030–2040, we must find new methods of flying that do not have an environmental impact. Maybe electric aircraft is the future! Allan Eriksson
Top-10-destinations from Gothenburg (number of trips 1. Umeå 2. London Heathrow 3. Helsinki 4. Zurich 5. Berlin 6. San Francisco 7. Munich 8. Stansted 9. Wien 10. Åbo
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FACTS The Vice-Chancellor has decided that emissions of carbon dioxide this year shall be reduced by at least a quarter, compared to 2019. The decision is based on the Paris Agreement’s requirement to limit the global temperature increase, preferably to 1.5°C but no more than 2°C.
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Listening to the wordless – Instead of creating a world where only people who think alike can enjoy life together, we should learn from nature: without diversity, life cannot be sustained. Words spoken by Swati Parashar, Associate Professor at the School of Global Studies. Her field of research is gender, war and security in South Asia and East Africa. Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg
In 2014, two Indian teenage girls were raped and murdered in a field where they had gone to relieve themselves. The case garnered a lot of international attention, Swati Parashar reminds us. – The indignation should have been about violence and the vulnerability of Indian women. But the media chose to focus on the lack of toilets, as if rape is about inadequate sanitation. This is how the Global South is often described in the West, as if every terrible event can be explained by some form of deficiency in development. Swati Parashar argues that this is an example of the three principal barriers to global solidarity between women. – We talk about the Global South in a terribly prejudiced way. And there is also a perception of “non-negotiable differences”, i.e. that certain differences between the West and the Global South are so fundamental that it is simply pointless to discuss them. Furthermore, there is also a notion that women in India, Latin America and Africa lack the ability to express what they want, which is an absurd notion. What we need to do instead, is to learn to understand the ways in which they express themselves; not everything is about words, you can express a view through silence as well. Swati Parashar is originally from a small town in the state of Bihar in eastern India. It was what she experienced in childhood that made her a feminist. – In the town where I grew up, there were constant electricity and water shortages , the general level of education was low, and girls were married off as young as 10–13 years of age. That was true for my mother as well, who never received any formal education and was married off in her early teens. When my three siblings and I complained about all the homework, she would point out that we must never become like her, we must study to get a better life. Patriarchal authority over women and children is common in India. – The laws are frequently outdated, and violence against women rarely leads to proper police investigations or legal proceedings. When I was growing up, I reacted to all of that and was almost always angry. Even though Swati Parashar’s family was also patriarchal, both herself and her sisters, as the first women of the family, were allowed to enter higher education. – I started at Delhi University, and later took my MA in Politics and International Relations at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. For me, it was a tremendous experience to come
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and how they transform the life of entire communities in the countries where they come from, and there is something magnificent in all this. Even though a growing number of women play cricket it is a very masculine sport, and I have even been chased out of cricket discussions when I wanted to venture an opinion. But that is also interesting for a social scientist like myself.
had to constantly be on your guard. For example, my friends and I always carried safety pins on the bus in order to have something to stick into all the men who constantly groped us. Swati Parashar completed her Ph.D. at Lancaster University in the UK. Since then, she has lectured and conducted research into war and terrorism in South Asia at universities in India, Singapore, Ireland, and Australia. Recently, she has developed an interest in East Africa, not least the reconciliation efforts following the genocide in Rwanda.
The India in which Swati Parashar grew
up in the 1990s was a turbulent place. The economy was liberalised, the country was modernised, but also suffered terrorist attacks and violence; for example, in 1991 the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, was murdered. – The younger generation is less forgiving than the older generation, who lived through a terrible amount of violence, such as during the Partition of India that divided British India into two independent states India and Pakistan in 1947. The fact that young people are more restless now than before is not exclusive to India, it is true for many countries. It is partly linked to a masculinity that feels lost and in crisis, which is expressed through increased violence. But India is not solely a country of conflict. It is also a nation full of poetry, art, literature and music. – The exquisite ghazal and padyam forms of poetry can express a vast amount of meaning in a handful of words. And music from my part of the world is nearly infinite in its abundance. But I have to admit that I also like old-fashioned Bollywood music, and spend some of my time commenting on artists in various media. India is also the birthplace of several religions, such as Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
– Hinduism is the oldest religion, and
has many gods and goddesses, whose representations are not constrained to binary forms of gender. Hinduism enables many different philosophical paths. Cricket, the most colonial of all sports, is also very popular in India, Swati Parashar explains. – It surprises many people, but I truly love cricket, particularly the old format of five-day test matches. But cricket is actually more than just a sport. There is a wealth of stories about famous cricketers
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○ Swati Parashar Current position: Associate Professor at the School of Global Studies. Family: Partner, as well as family in India. Lives in: Gothenburg Publications. She is the author of Women and Militant Wars: The Politics of Injury (Routledge, 2014). She is the coeditor of The RoutledgeHandbook of FeministPeace Research. London and New York (with Tarja Väyrynen, Élise Féro and Catia C. Confortini, 2021), Rethinking Silence, Voice and Agency in Contested Gendered Terrains (with Jane Parpart, Routledge, 2019), Revisiting Gendered States: Feminist Imaginings of the State in International Relations (with Ann Tickner and Jacqui True, OUP, 2018). She conducts researchinto and lectures on the point of intersection between feminism and post- colonial thoughts and approaches. She is a regular contributor to The Indian Express and other media. She also started the blog blogalstudies.com. Interests: Classic Indian music, cricket (the most colonial of all sports). Latest read: Aghora: At the Left Hand of God by Robert E. S voboda. Favourite dish: Masala Dosa and South Indian thali.
Swati Parashar came to Sweden four years ago, from sunny Sydney to the city of Gothenburg, which had a temperature of -11 °C at the time. – Here, me and my colleagues have started conducting research into starvation as a means of inflicting violence in conflicts. When it comes to war and terrorism, there are international agreements governing how to handle the perpetrators. Starvation, however, is often seen as an unfortunate circumstance, even though famine is almost always caused by intentional policies. Those of us who live in the wealthy parts of the world should pause occasionally, and remind ourselves of how privileged we are, Swati Parashar states. – Doing that may come more easily for someone with my background, where every success always required hard work. I am incredibly grateful of the opportunity to study, and of being able to continue to learn new things every day. I have also always had amazing mentors and wonderful colleagues. Academic success is not an individual achievement, but is dependent on all the people who support you in various ways, and with whom you collaborate over the years. Swati Parashar also believes that we should occasionally reflect on nature, and its enormous riches and diversity. – Nature teaches us that differences are not dangerous, on the contrary, they are essential to our continued existence. Creating a world where everybody thinks the same way, and perceives the world in the same fashion just seems silly. The tolerance of the intolerant concerns me, that they are so certain about the truth, when we in fact do not know very much about life at all. Instead, we need to be as kind and empathetic as possible, even to those who we feel may not be entitled to our care. We need to realise that the problem does not lie with them, but with us and our, at times prejudiced, way of thinking about other people.
Focus News
Never before has any vaccine been developed as rapidly and efficiently as the vaccines for COVID-19 that are now on the market. The rapid pace is partly due to the fact that the genetic code for the SARSCoV-2 virus was made public, enabling researchers across the globe to study it. – But the research on which the vaccine is based has actually been around for a long time, and was initially developed to produce preparations for HIV, Ali Harandi explains. Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg
Illustration: Maria Källström
De vacciner som PfThe vaccines developed by
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are so-called mRNA vaccines, explains Ali Harandi, Associate Professor of Clinical Immunology, and head of the vaccine laboratory at the Institute of Biomedicine. – They primarily consist of mRNA, the very blueprint for the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s spike protein. In order for the mRNA to enter a muscle cell at the injection site, it is encased in a small lipid particle. The mRNA subsequently instructs the cells to produce the coronavirus’s spike protein. The immune system thinks it is a foreign intruder and starts to protect the body by producing antibodies and perhaps cell-mediated immunity. The vaccine produced by AstraZeneca, on the other hand, is a vector-based vaccine. – That means that the vaccine uses a weakened common cold virus that has been manipulated into producing the coronavirus protein. When the virus, disguised as the coronavirus, turns up in the body, the immune system recognizes it as an intruder and defends the body against it. Unlike the mRNA vaccine, there have been vector vaccines for human use for some time; a very successful one is the Ebola vaccine that was developed two years ago. Another vector vaccine, manufactured by Johnsson
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The lesson humanity needs to learn, is the importance of safeguarding nature. Because most pandemics are caused by the transfer of a virus from animals to humans.
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& Johnsson, has been considered safe and effective, and has recently got emergency use approval from FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration. The vaccines that are currently available are based on research that has been going on for many years. Several million dollars have been invested in research since 1984, in an attempt to find a vaccine against HIV, says Ali Harandi. – Despite the herculean efforts, no HIV vaccine has yet been produced. But the research has been successful nevertheless, as we have learned much about the workings of the immune system and about how to induce immunity against viral infections. The fight against HIV has also resulted in several new technical methods being developed, such as for producing both nucleic acid vaccines and vector-based vaccines.
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The COVID-19 vaccines are administered in two doses, the first one to wake up the immune system, and the second one to boost the immune system, Ali Harandi explains. – You probably receive partial protection even after the first dose. But it will take up to two weeks following the second dose for the body to build up effective protection against the disease. We do not actually know how long that protection will last, though.
However, the forth vaccine, manufactured by Johns-
son & Johnsson, is only given in one dose. Clinical data shows, though, that these vaccines have less efficacy compared to the mRNA vaccines. None of the new vaccines seem to cause serious adverse effects. – The adverse effects that have been observed are
■ Facts How does the COVID-19 vaccine work? mRNA vaccines are an entirely new way of making vaccines which involve activating the body’s own cells at the injection site. What happens is that a sequence of the v irus’s genetic make-up, or RNA, is injected into the body’s cells. The RNA acts as a template for the spike protein, the protein on the surface of the virus that acts as a kind of key, enabling the virus to penetrate human cells. The antibodies bind to this key and deactivate the virus. The vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are mRNA vaccines. Astra-Zeneca’s vaccine, on the other hand, is a vector-based vaccine. It involves loading a weakened common-cold virus with the genetic material for the spike protein of the coronavirus. The cells then start to produce antigens that the immune system learns to recognise. As the vaccine does not contain any complete coronavirus, it cannot cause any illness. Astra-Zeneca’s vaccine is considerably cheaper than the other two vaccines, and is also easier to handle from a logistical perspective. However, there is some uncertainty as to its efficacy in older people. Another vector vaccine, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson has recently been considered safe and effective, and has been given emergency use approval from FDA.
the ones that usually arise following an influenza vaccination, such as localised pain at the injection site, fever and fatigue. However, COVID vaccines appear to be reactogenic more often compared to other human vaccines, so adverse reactions are more common. It might also be good to combine different vaccines. A study was recently commenced at Oxford University, where over 800 people will first be given a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and then a dose of the Pfizer vaccine. – It is a very interesting study, Ali Harandi points out. If it is possible to combine the vaccines, worldwide distribution will be more flexible with less risk of delays. A combination may also provide greater efficacy as the immune system is being attacked from different directions, but we do not yet know whether that holds true in this case.
Because when it comes to pandemics, nobody is safe until everybody is safe. ALI HARANDI
Like many other types of virus, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated and there is currently a British and a South-African variant. These mutations appear to spread more rapidly in the population than the original variant, but the symptoms are the same. There is also a Brazilian variant which so far has not spread very extensively. – The new vaccines provide somewhat weaker immunity against these mutated viruses, particularly against the South-African variant. But the next generation of COVID vaccines, which also work against the mutated viruses, are already being developed. But the fact that the virus mutates is yet another reason to ensure that as many people as possible are vaccinated, to stop the contagion. Because when it comes to pandemics, nobody is safe until everybody is safe. The approvals that have now been granted for a number of COVID vaccines are conditional. This means that they may only be used during a public health emergency, such as a pandemic, says Ali Harandi. – For the general public, this is less relevant but to the pharmaceutical companies, it means that they will have to submit additional information in order to subsequently apply for full approval. Ali Harandi believes that life will only return to something resembling normal in 2022. Moreover, he is convinced that the world will suffer more pandemics in the future. – The lesson humanity needs to learn, is the importance of safeguarding nature. Because most pandemics are caused by the transfer of a virus from animals to humans. This in turn, is due to man’s destruction of natural animal habitats, such as deforestation, which leads to viruses crossing the natural species barrier. Being able to buy live bats and other wild animals at markets in China, and cramming animals, such as mink, together on massive farms in countries such as Denmark, increases the risk of a contagion spreading. Humans are simply close at hand when the virus is looking for a new host. Previous epidemics, such as SARS, MERS, Ebola, Zika, influenza and HIV were all transmitted from animals. So, if we want to prevent future epidemics, which may well be much more serious than COVID-19, we must start treating animals and the environment in a much more responsible manner.
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– We should be careful about singling out certain groups and saying that they have made mistakes, says Lars-Olof Johansson.
Why many people hesitate to get vaccinated It is called “the omission bias” and means that an action that has bad consequences is perceived as more reprehensible than passive inaction that has equally bad consequences. – It may be an explanation as to why some people hesitate to get vaccinated, explains Lars-Olof Johansson, Professor of Psychology.
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We humans like to see ourselves as rational beings who make informed decisions. However, often it is our gut feeling that counts, explains Lars-Olof Johansson. – Especially when there is a high degree of uncertainty, which is the case with COVID-19, we often let our emotions govern us. The vaccine is completely new and untested and no one has an answer as to how long a person’s immunity will last. Some vaccines are 95 percent effective, others only 60 percent, some are more effective in younger people but less effective in older people. Researchers know what is good at a population level but not what is best for me as an individual. Our gut feeling tells us that an active choice can ultimately go very wrong, while passivity, not getting vaccinated,
Photo: KAROLINA GRABOWSKA
have foreseen the outcome, is another reason why it is difficult to make decisions. What seems reasonable today may well turn out to be completely crazy tomorrow, and to have undesirable consequences, Lars-Olof Johansson explains. – As a psychologist, I can get very annoyed at the ongoing discussion about all the mistakes made during the pandemic. Anyone who, in an uncertain situation, makes decisions based on the information that actually is available, is doing the right thing. Then, when new information emerges, it may of course turn out that you should have acted differently, but that information was not known when the decision was made.
One way to deal with uncertainty is through the
precautionary principle. For example, most people accept that they have to wear a seat belt when driving, even though they do not worry very much about having an accident. – But what does it mean to be careful during a pandemic? In part, it involves closing down businesses and other operations so that the infection spreads more slowly, which gives the healthcare services a chance to keep up. But how much of society should you shut down before it starts impacting people in other ways? What this crisis has shown is, in fact, that a lot of other things played a role, which were in place long before the pandemic began, and which have nothing to do with the actual shutdown. Among other things, we have an ageing population and also a poorly functioning elderly care system in many places. We see a lack of resources, class differences, overcrowded housing, overcrowded public transport and people who work in open-plan office landscapes. Furthermore, we have our habitual social behaviours, all factors that probably adversely affected the spread of the infection.
– I would like to see serious scientific studies that
feels safer: should you get sick, that’s what happens, it is not dependent on something you have done. However, someone who for some reason is reluctant or does not want to get vaccinated, needs to explain their opposition rationally.
– Sometimes the opposition can be related to the person’s identity or group affiliation. Then it will take quite a lot for the person to change their position, such as that they themselves, or someone close to them, becoming really ill, thus making it obvious that a vaccination might have been better after all. “Hindsight bias”, i.e. the tendency, upon learning the outcome of an event to overestimate one’s ability to
include all the possible explanations for why things went so badly. Eventually, we will understand more about which factors were important, but that will probably take several years. So how should we deal with all the uncertainty, fear, and perhaps despair that a pandemic causes? – Firstly, we should be careful about singling out certain groups and claiming that they were the ones who made mistakes or were irresponsible, says LarsOlof Johansson. And secondly, in such a serious situation politicians must stop their power plays and start to discuss the problem itself. But most important of all is to stick to the truth. All scientific communication is based on the understanding that our models are not perfect, but they are better than just guessing. If we fail to communicate that, people will come up with their own explanations and theories. And that can have very serious consequences.
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Vaccine as a right or a duty Refusing to vaccinate yourself against a serious disease seems counter-intuitive. But is it morally wrong? – If you view the vaccination as an obligation, you might see it that way. But instead, it is a huge benefit, which it quite simply seems unnecessary not to take advantage of, says Petra Anderson, researcher in practical philosophy. There is a debate in several countries about how to
handle people who for some reason do not want to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Do you perhaps only have yourself to blame if you refuse to be vaccinated and then fall ill? And should those who take the vaccination have certain benefits that the unvaccinated do not? – These kinds of questions arise if you view the vaccination as a duty to society, rather than, which is more reasonable, as a benefit, Petra Anderson argues. You could compare it to the regular child vaccination schedule, which most parents consider a major benefit. According to the Swedish Health and Medical Services Act, you cannot force anyone to be vaccinated. And to somehow distinguish between people who are vaccinated and people who, for some reason, choose not to be, sounds disconcerting, Petra Andersson argues. – By refusing to get vaccinated, you primarily risk harming yourself, but hardly anyone else, except for incurring a cost to society if you fall ill. But in other circumstances we do not require people to live perfect lives in order to be eligible for healthcare. Those who do not want to be vaccinated risk suffering the adverse
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– Dividing people into the vaccinated and the unvaccinated sounds unreasonable, and it is not something that we would accept in other circumstances, Petra Andersson points out.
effect of maybe having to continue to isolate. It would be sad for them, but not for society as a whole. Among those opposed to the vaccination we find a small group that oppose all kinds of vaccinations on ideological grounds. But most of those who are hesitant probably are so out of fear of serious adverse effects, partly because the vaccine was developed so rapidly and partly because there are, naturally, no long-term studies available.
– It is not necessarily a bad thing to be cautious about the substances you are willing to ingest or inject. But a virus is also a type of substance that enters the body, and which may have very serious consequences. Many people seem to believe that natural substances are less
But a virus is also a type of substance that enters the body, and which may have very serious consequences. PETRA ANDERSSON
harmful than substances developed under controlled conditions in a laboratory, and that is somewhat peculiar. Several countries, including Sweden, have started to require negative COVID-19 tests for foreign citizens to be able to enter the country. That is also a way of sorting people into different categories. – Yes, but having special requirements to protect your own population still seems justified. However, refugees present a problem: should they also be refused entry if they cannot present a negative test result, and how would they be able to? But the overarching moral dilemma is not about individuals, it is about the fact that the wealthier parts of the world have managed to seize large quantities of vaccine, while the poorer parts of the world have to
settle for considerably less, Petra Anderson points out. – It would not have been unreasonable to give priority to regions where people have limited access to healthcare, and thus cannot receive help if they become infected. But as so often happens, it is not need, but ability to pay that governs where the drugs are distributed. I am afraid I have no realistic answer to the question of how to resolve this thorny issue.
■ Facts From February 6, any foreign national must present a negative COVID-19 test to be able to enter Sweden. Similar rules apply to Swedes who wish to travel to other countries.
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Vaccines have rescued us before – What strikes me is the terrible difference in the number of fatalities. In the 17th and 18th century, epidemics and famines could result in almost 10 percent of the population dying. Fortunately, we have not been anywhere near that figure in modern times, medical historian Daniel Larsson explains. Even though there are unpleasant exceptions, the history of vaccination is on the whole a success story, says Daniel Larsson. – That certain diseases are contagious has been known for a long time, even if we did not understand how. But before the smallpox vaccine, there was no other protection than quarantine. As early as in biblical times, there are descriptions of how people with leprosy had to live in isolation from other people. But the word quarantine, which means 40 days, originated in 15th-century Venice, where ships were not permitted to enter port until, after 40 days in isolation, they could show that they were not bringing the Plague. But it was only with the smallpox vaccine that we got real protection against contagious diseases, Daniel Larsson explains. – But there is an interesting prehistory to the smallpox vaccine. As early as the 16th century, doctors in China had learned that you could take infectious agents from a patient with a mild smallpox infection and give them to a healthy person through a scratch on the skin, for example. This way, the healthy person got, hopefully, a mild variant of smallpox. The method came to Europe in the 18th
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century and was called inoculation or variolation. For example, the physician to the Swedish king Charles XII is said to have learned the method in Turkey. Daniel Larsson A prominent proponent of variolation in Sweden was Nils Rosén, who performed the procedure on Gustav III. But its use soon fell out of favour and was replaced by a better method.
– The physician Edward Jenner, active in the English countryside in the 18th century, heard that milkmaids did not get smallpox if they had already had cowpox, a harmless viral infection from cows. In 1796, he decided to test whether this was true by using variolation to give his gardener’s young son cowpox. Some time later he gave the boy smallpox using the same method. When the boy remained healthy, Jenner realized that the boy had become immune, and thus the first vaccine was invented. Smallpox used to be a terrifying disease that reemerged every 5–6 years. In principle, everyone who had not previously had the disease became infected, which meant that it was perceived as a childhood disease, says Daniel Larsson. – But in 1816, when the smallpox vaccination became mandatory in Sweden, the disease had already mutated and become less fatal, the reason for this is not really known. Smallpox is, thus far, the only disease that infects humans that has been eradicated. Malaria was also rampant in Sweden and did not die out until the 19th century,
when wetlands began to be dug out for agricultural use. At the time, another fatal disease had begun to spread in Europe instead: cholera. The disease came to Sweden in 1834 and subsequently reemerged numerous times. The disease was so serious that special cholera hospitals and cholera cemeteries were established. – There were two competing views concerning what caused cholera: People who believed that small invisible infectious pathogens caused the disease advocated quarantine, while people who believed that the disease was due to poor hygiene, demanded investment in water and sewage systems and better housing.
It was the German physician Robert Koch, who in 1883, discovered that cholera was caused by the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae. Viruses, which are 100 to 1,000 times smaller than bacteria, were discovered much later. It was not until 1939, that the researchers Gustav Adolf Kausche, Edgar Pfankuch and Helmut Ruska were able to see viruses under an electron microscope. It is through church records and burial registers that Daniel Larsson has gained insight into what diseases people died of in the past. – But it is not all that easy to know what was really behind symptoms such as coughs and fevers. Although diseases were of course serious in the past, there were also other serious health threats. During the period 1771–1772, the crops failed and about 100,000 Swedes died of starvation and starvation-related diseases. That is, of course, a huge figure, especially considering that the population was only about 1.5 million.
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During the 19th century, vaccination became more common.
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