It has not been running rampant in Sweden, because many individuals altered their behaviors as well. Which is to say, Sweden is nowhere close to herd immunity,

It has not been running rampant in Sweden, because many individuals altered their behaviors as well. Which is to say, Sweden is nowhere close to herd immunity, so it stands to lose many more lives in the future as well. So far: it has lost many more lives per capita than its neighbors, and is economically worse off. There are also two other important reasons to have locked down early in the pandemic: - with time, we have already learned how to treat patients better and reduce mortality. This includes proning, dexamethasone and remdesivir which will reduce deaths. So exposing people to it in spring 2020 will produce very different mortality outcomes compared to fall or spring 2021 - We also have important therapeutic advances happening in monoclonal antibodies, and of course phase 3 trials of vaccines. I would bet that, with some luck, other European communities avoid ever accumulating the deaths Sweden did. Finally, it's more than deaths: many long-haul COVID patients are facing permanent disability and diminished capacity. The statistics aren't capturing this yet, but collectively, I think it was very foolish to have tried to push for herd immunity so early in a pandemic.