News from Scandinavia

[The ME Inquiry Report]

It seems that the ME and CFS-clinic in Gothenburg thinks it has found a loophole in the Canadian criteria that allows them to avoid establishing the diagnosis of ME in their patients.

New thread >> Sweden: Have the ME and CFS clinic in Gothenburg found a loophole to avoid the diagnosis ME?

 

[Utsikt]

Reme, Landmark, Garner and Van der Bergh as representatives of OCFN with an opinion piece about how predictive models and expectations cause LC and that this should be taught in medical schools.

Sitter long covid «bare i hodet»?

KRONIKK: Kunnskap om hvordan symptomer oppstår og vedvarer, bør få mer plass i medisinstudiet, ifølge innsenderne.

www.forskersonen.no

 

[Snow Leopard]

Reme, Landmark, Garner and Van der Bergh as representatives of OCFN with an opinion piece about how predictive models and expectations cause LC and that this should be taught in medical schools.

Sitter long covid «bare i hodet»?

KRONIKK: Kunnskap om hvordan symptomer oppstår og vedvarer, bør få mer plass i medisinstudiet, ifølge innsenderne.

www.forskersonen.no

Just wow, It's easily falsifiable too as people with LC have very diverse expectations and many of them had never even heard of ME/CFS when they first got COVID. Why do they (Garner et al.) not notice that it is them who keep projecting expectations and experiences onto others?

 

[Kalliope]

Reme, Landmark, Garner and Van der Bergh as representatives of OCFN with an opinion piece about how predictive models and expectations cause LC and that this should be taught in medical schools.

Sitter long covid «bare i hodet»?

KRONIKK: Kunnskap om hvordan symptomer oppstår og vedvarer, bør få mer plass i medisinstudiet, ifølge innsenderne.

www.forskersonen.no

A great reply today from ME patient, psychologist and author Frøydis Lilledalen.

Forventninger kurerer ikke long covid

google translation Expectations do not cure long covid

Quote:
We need fewer undocumented hypotheses, less reference to VR glasses, and more knowledge updates in the face of increasing numbers of ME and long-term COVID patients. We have tried to psychologist diseases following infections, but it has neither increased recovery nor reduced incidence.

​

 

[rvallee]

Just wow, It's easily falsifiable too as people with LC have very diverse expectations and many of them had never even heard of ME/CFS when they first got COVID. Why do they (Garner et al.) not notice that it is them who keep projecting expectations and experiences onto others?

It's also obviously a fake model they don't even actually care about, just a pseudoscientific reframing of the old fear avoidance.

These quacks have spent decades lying to themselves, and the world, that all we need is an explanation. Not a real one, we just need to have an explanation, it doesn't even have to be plausible. Not because we need an explanation, but because they do. The explanation is just a cheap excuse for doing the same things for the same reasons expecting the same outcomes, which is to perpetuate the lie that they can produce positive outcomes. Something they never have.

Because they don't need to. They got an explanation. And another. And a pocketful of more of them. They throw them around like it's pocket sand, blinding anyone who dares look into their empty pockets.

 

[rvallee]

We have tried to psychologist diseases following infections, but it has neither increased recovery nor reduced incidence.

For decades. Against explicit rejection of consent and undeniable failure. Against decades of legitimate complaints and protests. Still forcing it down our throats and lying about it all.

It just doesn't have the same weight when it's a simple "we tried that already". It hasn't been just tried, it has been tried to excess, for decades, many times around. That's why they never do anything different, are still trying the very same ideas the original quacks came up over a century ago.

 

[Sean]

A great reply today from ME patient, psychologist and author Frøydis Lilledalen.

Forventninger kurerer ikke long covid

google translation Expectations do not cure long covid

Quote:
We need fewer undocumented hypotheses, less reference to VR glasses, and more knowledge updates in the face of increasing numbers of ME and long-term COVID patients. We have tried to psychologist diseases following infections, but it has neither increased recovery nor reduced incidence.

Good article.

Not because we need an explanation, but because they do.

Exactly. None of this is for our benefit. Never has been.

 

[Utsikt]

Response from Shepherd and MEA:

The ME Association categorically disagrees with the opinions expressed in Science Norway article

MEA Comment​

I would fully accept that having a long term and very debilitating illness like ME/CFS or Long Covid, which does not have any effective form of treatment, can have an effect on mental and emotional health.

However, I cannot agree with the emphasis on the role of the mind in symptom production that is being put forward in this opinion article from Norway.

The UK and Norwegian authors are well known for their opposition to much of the biomedical model of causation and management for ME/CFS and Long Covid.

I don't therefore believe that the mind-body approach to explanation and management that they are promoting here is going to be helpful in either Long Covid or ME/CFS.

The ME Association categorically disagrees with the opinions expressed in Science Norway article - The ME Association

***Sharing for information – not a recommendation*** Today, an opinion […]

meassociation.org.uk

 

[The ME Inquiry Report]

I've made a separate thread for functional disorders in Sweden because unfortunately there is some kind of campaign going on right now

Link: General thread on functional disorders in Sweden

 

[Chandelier]

Sweden struggling to balance new COVID-19 vaccine strategy with public finances | Euractiv

Sweden’s COVID-19 vaccine policy sparks debate over age thresholds and economic trade-offs

www.euractiv.com

Sweden Faces Criticism Over New COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy

Sweden Alters Vaccine Policy for Autumn Rollout
Sweden has introduced a revised COVID-19 vaccination strategy for the autumn season, setting it apart from many of its European neighbors. The Swedish Public Health Agency is now offering free vaccinations only to people aged 75 and older, as well as medically vulnerable individuals aged 18–74. However, healthy individuals aged 65–74—approximately 820,000 people—are not included in the recommendation unless regional authorities have already vaccinated all higher-priority groups.

Medical Experts Raise Concerns
The decision has sparked debate among health professionals. Critics argue that raising the age threshold lacks medical justification. Åke Lundkvist, a virologist at Uppsala University, emphasized that immune function begins to decline after the age of 50 and suggested that all individuals over 60 should be encouraged to receive the vaccine. The Public Health Agency defends its decision, citing reduced risks due to widespread immunity and the milder nature of current virus variants.

Economic Considerations Behind the Policy
The new guidelines are based on a health economic analysis that found limited benefits in vaccinating healthy individuals over 65. Ulrika Marking, an infectious disease expert at the agency, stated that the economic gain from vaccinating this group is minimal. However, critics argue the analysis fails to consider the long-term costs of post-COVID conditions. An internal report also admits that reaching all vulnerable individuals aged 65–79 may be difficult, potentially increasing the disease burden.

Nordic and European Responses Vary
Sweden’s approach contrasts with that of neighboring Denmark, where all individuals aged 65 and above are still encouraged to get vaccinated. Danish authorities cite recent hospitalization and mortality data to justify their inclusive policy, while warning that future virus mutations could reverse current trends.
Other countries such as France, Belgium, and the Netherlands continue to recommend vaccines for those aged 60–65 and older. Meanwhile, the UK, Norway, and Finland have adopted policies similar to Sweden's. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) declined to comment on the diverging national strategies.

 

[Utsikt]

This like a baby thinking something disappears if you can’t see it. History will not be kind to them.

 

[Jaybee00]

I know this is an incredibly long shot, but does anyone know anyone who who lives in Stockholm who would give me a bed for a week or two while I'm supporting a member of our ME community? This is really important. I don't have a budget but have got money to get there. Please rt!