The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has spread globally in a short period of time and quickly developed into a pandemic. In connection with its progress, entire cities and countries have been closed down, people are quarantined, and infrastructure and trade have been suspended. As this is a new virus, no vaccine or antiviral drugs are available, but instead non-medical measures such as social distancing may be used to reduce the spread. The Nordic countries, which are known for their similar welfare systems, have chosen pandemic strategies without coordinating with their neighbours. Over one night, Denmark closed the bridge to Sweden and shut down its society, while Sweden keeps as much open as possible and recommends its residents to comply with general advice on reducing the spread. Notably, this is the second time in a short time where Denmark and Sweden diverge in their pandemic response. In 2009, during the H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak, Denmark only vaccinated risk-groups whereas Sweden pursued a mass vaccination strategy. In a previous research project, we compared Sweden’s and Denmark’s contrasting pandemic response focusing on pharmaceutical interventions in terms of vaccination and antivirals. The pressing need to find a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic means that risks and shortcuts may have to be taken in order to come up with a vaccine with apparent risks to individual health. We can therefore see the current pandemic as an opportunity to expand sociological research, since Nordic cooperation once again is uncoordinated, despite signals and agreements of otherwise, and different drugs are fast tracked and already tested in human trials.

中文翻译：

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药品游说和流行病囤积：北欧国家似曾相识的感觉以及为什么社会学视角对理解 COVID-19 至关重要

新型冠状病毒 SARS-CoV-2（COVID-19）在短时间内在全球范围内传播，并迅速发展为大流行病。与其进展相关的是，整个城市和国家都被关闭，人们被隔离，基础设施和贸易也被暂停。由于这是一种新病毒，因此没有可用的疫苗或抗病毒药物，但可以使用社交距离等非医疗措施来减少传播。以其类似福利制度而闻名的北欧国家在没有与邻国协调的情况下选择了大流行战略。一夜之间，丹麦关闭了通往瑞典的桥梁并关闭了其社会，而瑞典则尽可能保持开放，并建议其居民遵守关于减少传播的一般建议。尤其，这是丹麦和瑞典在短时间内第二次在应对大流行方面出现分歧。2009 年，在 H1N1（猪流感）爆发期间，丹麦只为高危人群接种疫苗，而瑞典则采取大规模疫苗接种策略。在之前的一个研究项目中，我们比较了瑞典和丹麦在疫苗接种和抗病毒药物方面侧重于药物干预的大流行应对措施。迫切需要找到解决 COVID-19 大流行的方法，这意味着可能必须采取风险和捷径，才能研制出对个人健康有明显风险的疫苗。因此，我们可以将当前的大流行视为扩大社会学研究的机会，因为尽管有其他信号和协议，北欧合作再次不协调，