Plan to vaccinate all adults in Sweden by July
Everyone living in Sweden aged over 18 – and children in risk groups – will be offered the Covid-19 vaccine within the first six months of 2021, pledged Health Minister Lena Hallengren and Marie Morell, head of the healthcare department of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, at a press conference late on Tuesday.
Vaccinations are currently expected to get under way after Epiphany, and will initially be offered to risk groups. The state is responsible for securing the doses – which it has done through EU deals – and paying for them, and the regions are in charge of the vaccination process. Vaccinations are intended to be free for each individual.
Swedish vocabulary: adult – vuxen
Lena Hallengren and Maria Morell. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT
Is it a bird, is it a Christmas tree?
Don't be alarmed if you hear the loud noise of more than a dozen fighter jets flying over your cities in the coming week – the manoeuvre in a Christmas tree-shaped formation is simply the Swedish Armed Forces' unusual version of sending you a Christmas card.
The flights take place every year, if the weather permits, and are also a way for the Armed Forces to practice flying in formation. You can see all the scheduled dates and times here.
Swedish vocabulary: Christmas tree – julgran
What the Christmas tree formation looked like in the skies above Malmö last year. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
Sweden's coronavirus Christmas recommendations
This year the festive season will not be like others, with the Swedish government and Public Health Agency urging people in Sweden to meet as few people as possible over the Christmas period: no more than eight in total. The Local covered the government's press conference here, where it announced new national guidelines from December 14th.
We also explained the new recommendations in this article here.
Swedish vocabulary: government – regering
A street in Helsingborg this week. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
Swedish school results revealed
Swedish pupils' results in the global school study Timss 2019 held steady, without improving or deteriorating much on the last time the study was carried out in 2015.
In Maths, fourth-graders (aged 10) improved their score from 518 to 521, and eight-graders (aged 14) from 501 to 503. They both saw their score fall in Natural Sciences from 540 to 537 and from 522 to 521, respectively. However, all of those changes are so small they are not statistically significant. 2015 on the other hand was a big improvement on 2011, but since 2015 no Nordic country has improved its results.
You can read the full report here.
Swedish vocabulary: school – skola
A child doing her homework. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
Norwegian Air to seek bankruptcy protection in Norway
Embattled low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection in Ireland, said on Tuesday it had launched a similar process in Norway.
Burdened with massive debt after an ambitious expansion programme and suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic that has paralysed global air traffic, Europe's third-biggest no-frills airline, used by many people in Sweden, is now fighting for its survival.
Swedish vocabulary: airline – flygbolag
Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts or questions about life in Sweden, you are always welcome to email our editorial team at news@thelocal.se.
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