The Athlone Vaccination Centre of Hope has administered its final jabs. 

The site opened in August and, in September, became the first drive-through vaccination service in the Western Cape. On Saturday, it closed its doors after more than 80 000 people received their Covid-19 vaccinations at the site.

The five-lane drive-through consisted of 51 staff - from nurses, administrative clerks, pharmacy staff, emergency services and general workers. The drive-through had 10 vaccination stations including EVDS registration set-ups which accommodated all modes of transport from vehicles, taxis, work vans, motorcycles, bicycles, mini-vans, to horse and cart.

The site was opened to make vaccinations more accessible to Cape Flats residents and to improve low vaccination uptake in certain districts.

At full capacity, the site was able to administer more than 4 000 vaccines a day, making it as big as the Cape Town Convention Centre (CTICC) Vaccination Centre of Hope. The CTICC vaccination site ceased operating at the beginning of December 2021.

The mass vaccination site was a contractual agreement between the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government, which had concluded, said Dr Saadiq Kariem, Western Cape health department deputy director general.

The provincial health department opened the facility to vaccinate people who live and travel in the area. The site was situated along one to the busiest travel routes in the Cape Metro.

Due to the popularity of the drive-through, people from other areas in the metro travelled to access the fast and efficient service, said Fatima Peters, site manager at the Athlone Vaccination Centre.

"The drive-through was the first of its kind and magnitude in the Western Cape and the department made history in the metro and the Cape Flats with this significant project to accommodate many communities within proximity at the historical Athlone Stadium in the comfort of their vehicles," Peters said.

The site had failed to maintain its goal of 2 000 vaccinations per day, as demand for the jabs dwindled. The department will now rely on "pop-up vaccination sites" to administer vaccines in residential areas, or integrated services at healthcare facilities.

"I would like to thank the staff of the Athlone site, the role the City of Cape Town colleagues played in assisting in getting the mass site operational, and all staff in the province for their dedication to ensuring that our citizens are vaccinated to protect them against Covid-19," said Kariem.

"Since the opening of the Athlone Vaccination Centre of Hope Walk-through on 17 August 2021 and then the drive-through on 3 September 2022, a total of 80 649 people were vaccinated at both the walk-through and drive-through combined."

Kariem received his booster vaccine at the drive-through on Friday and was one of the last 1 000  people to receive a jab.

"I encourage all citizens 12 years and older, especially the youth and our vulnerable clients to access their nearest healthcare facility for their vaccines and booster doses to lessen the impact of the fifth Covid-19 wave and to get our economy back on track," said Kariem.