Oktoberfest vaccine clinic exceeds demand expectations

Munich’s first flu and coronavirus vaccination service at Oktoberfest has drawn more visitors than expected, with 322 people vaccinated in its first six days, BR reports.

The city’s Health Department is offering the shots at the medical station behind the Schottenhamel tent. Aicher Ambulance is administering them as part of the “Munich Vaccinates” campaign, run by the department and the university hospitals of LMU and TUM. The vaccine supply ran out after a few days and had to be replenished, said Christian Schulz, deputy head of clinical infectious diseases at LMU University Hospital.

The service is open to festival visitors and Oktoberfest workers, including servers, fairground operators, security staff and kitchen employees. Vaccinations follow recommendations from Germany’s Standing Committee on Vaccination, known as STIKO. The offer is aimed particularly at older people and those with pre-existing conditions. Flu and coronavirus vaccines are available, depending on each person’s circumstances and medical recommendations.

It takes about two weeks for a vaccine to provide protection, so the shots are not intended to protect people during the festival itself. Schulz said the initiative aims to make vaccination accessible and increase uptake. People who are drunk are not vaccinated: each person is assessed, questioned and given medical information before receiving a shot, he said.

Munich Health Department head Beatrix Zurek said vaccination rates among people covered by STIKO recommendations are too low. About one third of those eligible are vaccinated against flu, and fewer than one fifth against coronavirus, she said. Zurek said the figures are well below those in some other European countries, including Scandinavia, where more than two thirds of people covered by a recommendation are vaccinated.

No appointment is needed. The medical station is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to noon at weekends. Visitors should bring their vaccination record and health insurance card. The service runs until the festival’s final day on October 4.