Sweden's lockdown-sceptic Covid chief resigns to take up vaccine advisory role with the World Health Organization

Sweden's infamous lockdown-sceptic health chief Anders Tegnell (pictured) is leaving his role to join the World Health Organization as a vaccine advisor

Sweden stood out among European nations and much of the world for the way it responded to the pandemic. Graph shows: The Covid death rate per million people in western European nations

Announcing his new role, Professor Tegnell — who has been Sweden's state epidemiologist since 2013 — said: 'For 30 years, I have worked with vaccines and at the same time have always been passionate about international issues.

'It is still very important that the vaccines reach the countries that have not had the financial conditions to buy their own vaccines.'

His approach earned praise from the libertarian right in the UK and US as well as the social democratic centre-left in Sweden.

He became a cult figure in the country, with people getting tattoos of his face and waving banners with his name.

But with the rise of the Alpha variant at the end of 2020, the country's Government tightened its measures, restricting how many people can meet in groups from 50 to eight.

More than 17,000 people have died in Sweden from or with Covid, many times more per capita than in neighbouring Scandinavian countries.

But it has also suffered fewer than many other European countries that also opted for lockdowns.

The WHO backed a more lockdown-centric approach to pandemic handling throughout Professor Tegnell's tenure as Sweden's health chief.

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