The chapter explores the apparent contradiction between Sweden’s pre-eminent international welfare reputation and its strikingly limited welfare response to the pandemic. We survey the Swedish welfare impact within two domains: first, the domain of public and social policies during the pandemic and their impact on the welfare of citizens; second, the domain of social work practice and its impact within two fields – disability and gendered violence to women. Finally, we ask how far international social work can learn about its future trajectory from the Swedish experience.