A party night in Münster turns into a superspreader event. Although all participants were apparently vaccinated or recovered. So is 2G already at its end? It is not that easy.
Friday evening two weeks ago in a club in Münster: 380 women and men meet to celebrate and dance after a long week of work and study. Most of them are in their early or mid-twenties – and all of them stated on the door that they were fully vaccinated against corona or had recovered from the disease. So you adhere to the so-called 2G rule, which is a prerequisite for access. Nevertheless, it will be a party night with consequences.
Because a few days later, the corona infections accumulate among the party guests – even if only mild or no symptoms have occurred so far. First the city of Münster reports 26 infected people, then the number keeps increasing, currently there are 85 and one employee of the club (as of September 17). That is more than every fifth party participant. How can that be? Does the Superspreader event show, for example, that 2G (only vaccinated and convalescent people come in) is no better than 3G in the fight against the pandemic (people who have been tested also come in)? Does 2G possibly focus on the harassment of the unvaccinated, as some suspect?
So far no difficult courses
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach has a clear opinion on the events in Münster: “Does that speak against 2G? No, clearly in favor. Without 2G, many more party-goers would be seriously ill,” he recently announced.
A party with several hundred guests – hardly any space, loud music, conversations without a distance, maybe even loud singing – all of this creates an ideal environment for an infectious aerosol, said Bernd Salzberger, Chairman of the German Society for Infectious Diseases, the German Press Agency. The party night in Münster is therefore a “special situation”.
If only one or two of the guests are freshly infected, infections are also possible in those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, especially with the particularly contagious Delta variant of the disease. Because in the case of delta infections, the protection against infection decreases, the probability of a so-called vaccination breakthrough increases rapidly.
A vaccination breakthrough is when a fully vaccinated person is diagnosed with Sars-CoV-2 infection and symptoms. The infection must be confirmed via a PCR test.
Vaccination breakthroughs aren’t surprising
It is important to know: A vaccination breakthrough does not mean that the vaccines do not protect, or that affected people automatically become seriously ill. It was already foreseeable in the approval studies of the vaccines that there would be a certain number of vaccine breakthroughs: Here, all vaccines approved so far showed a very high and reliable protection against infection, but not 100 percent.
According to the current status, the city rules out false information from guests about their vaccination status as an explanation. So far, no violations of the vaccination certificates requested by infected people have been found, said the press office of the city of Münster. It could not be due to the structural requirements: According to the maintenance company, the club’s ventilation systems even exceeded the requirements. And the clear majority of the guests were vaccinated with the mRNA vaccines, which are particularly effective against Delta, announced the city.
So it can be concluded that party nights in clubs or discos are not possible without infection, even with 2G, said Salzberger – perhaps differently than in restaurants, where more distance is kept. However, none of the participants became seriously ill. The vaccination also protects against severe courses where an infection cannot be prevented.
The question of security through 2G rules is explosive, after all, numerous states such as Hesse, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Saxony have announced 2G hurdles for indoor events. Legal checks could threaten defeat in court if these restrictions on freedom for non-vaccinated people could not be justified by a clear benefit.
On the other hand: At 2G events, many corona regulations, such as keeping your distance, which still apply to 3G, do not apply. 2G advocates therefore see the regulation as an opportunity to return to largely normalcy in everyday life. According to the RKI, the vaccination rate in Germany is currently 62.8 percent. 67 percent received at least the first vaccination. According to experts, the rate is still too low to contain a stronger fourth wave in autumn and winter.
“The disco is not the sports club”
Alena Buyx, chairwoman of the German Ethics Council, sees no compulsory vaccination through the back door in 2G, as she had already declared at the end of August at the start of 2G as an option model in Hamburg. “A duty is something that you cannot evade,” she told the radio broadcaster NDR Info at the time. That is not the case here. Instead, “pressure is built to make it more attractive to protect yourself and others”.
Buyx said at the time that from an ethical point of view, the 3G model was better because it offered more participation. However, if the situation worsened further, 2G would be ethically justifiable if it was handled with moderation. “You should have exhausted everything else beforehand.” It is also important to think in advance which areas will be affected. “The disco is not the sports club, nor is it the visit to the authorities.”
The Münster crisis team leader Wolfgang Heuer drew his own conclusion on the infections after the party night: “It is known that people can continue to be infected and become carriers despite immunization,” he told the dpa. “But it is also clear that the vaccination extremely reduces the risk of serious illness.” The series of infections again shows the enormous importance of vaccinations – and that nobody should be carefree, especially not with close contacts in closed rooms.
