Flu and COVID vaccinations right at Oktoberfest; blood tests and CT scans just a few meters from beer tents: Medical care at the Wiesn, the local name for Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, is expanding significantly in 2026. The plan is to provide preventive care and hospital-quality diagnostics to sites where millions of individuals gather over a short period.

Last year’s figures illustrate the demand for medical care at Oktoberfest. In 2025, the medical service at Wiesn treated 7158 patients. About 39% of cases were alcohol-related, 35% involved surgical injuries, and the remaining 26% involved internal medicine conditions and other complaints.

Emergency responders are also busy at the start of Oktoberfest in 2026. On the first day of the festival alone (September 20), the medical service treated 666 patients. The most common reasons for treatment include alcohol poisoning, injuries, and circulatory problems.

Vaccination and Medical Care

What’s new? For the first time, visitors and employees can directly receive influenza and COVID vaccinations at Oktoberfest. The City of Munich offers vaccinations without an appointment at the Oktoberfest police station, known locally as the Wiesn-Wache. The service is part of the city’s “Munich Vaccinates” initiative and is intended to make vaccination more accessible, particularly for individuals at increased risk for severe illness.

A 2025 study showed that large events, such as Oktoberfest, can affect infection rates. The authors observed a significant increase in COVID infection rates during and after the festival, particularly among individuals aged 15-34 years and 35-59 years. However, the findings were based on SARS-CoV-2 data from 2022 and, therefore, cannot be directly applied to influenza or Oktoberfest 2026.

However, anyone who is vaccinated at Oktoberfest and then heads into a beer tent should not expect immediate protection from the vaccine. It takes several weeks for an immune response to develop. Therefore, the vaccination service at Oktoberfest is primarily a low-barrier opportunity to close existing vaccination gaps ahead of the fall and winter seasons. Germany’s Standing Committee on Vaccination at the Robert Koch Institute recommends annual influenza vaccination for individuals aged 60 years and older and those with certain chronic conditions. For respiratory syncytial virus, routine vaccination is recommended for individuals aged 75 years or older. For individuals aged 60-74 years, vaccination is recommended for those with certain serious underlying conditions or those living in long-term care facilities. COVID booster recommendations also focus on groups at increased risk for severe disease. According to Christoph D. Spinner, MD, PhD, MBA, head of Infectious Diseases Unit and chief medical information officer at TUM Klinikum Rechts der Isar, University Hospital of the Technical University of Munich, Munich, fewer than 1 in 3 individuals for whom influenza vaccination is recommended have been vaccinated. The new Oktoberfest service is intended to reach individuals who have not previously taken up other vaccination opportunities.

Prevention is only one part of Oktoberfest’s medical strategy. By 2026, diagnostic capabilities are expanding directly on festival grounds. For the first time, the medical station will have two laboratory devices capable of analyzing blood samples on site. The City of Munich confirmed the new equipment. The Aicher Ambulanz Medical Service, which provides emergency medical care at the festival, also lists advanced diagnostic testing as part of on-site care, including tests for cardiac enzymes and drugs.

These tests could allow for findings that previously required further assessment at a hospital to be evaluated directly at the festival. However, it remains unclear whether the new service will reduce the need for hospital transport or emergency department visits.

The concept of on-site diagnostics at Theresienwiese, the Munich fairground where Oktoberfest is held, is not entirely new. In 2022, a mobile CT scanner was first used at Oktoberfest. It is primarily used for patients with head and facial injuries and suspected cervical spine injuries. The authors of the published study described mobile CT scanners as a way to reduce pressure on preclinical and clinical emergency services and avoid unnecessary transfers for radiologic assessment.

With vaccination services, point-of-care laboratory testing, and a mobile CT scanner, Wiesn’s healthcare strategy has two main aims: To prevent illness where possible and to enable more diagnostic decisions to be made directly on site when medical problems occur.

Evidence is already available for mobile CT scanners, suggesting that on-site imaging can reduce avoidable hospital transfers. Whether the new point-of-care laboratory will have a similar effect on hospital transfers and emergency department visits remains to be determined.

Oktoberfest, therefore, provides a real-world example of bringing medical care closer to patients at a large-scale event. Prevention, laboratory testing, and imaging can be performed outside doctors’ offices and hospitals, including at locations where large numbers of individuals gather over a short period.

This story was translated from Medscape’s German edition.