THE drive-thru vaccine centre at Queen Margaret University (QMU) in Musselburgh is preparing for its final patients ahead of its closure this weekend.

It is NHS Lothian’s only drive-thru centre, which opened on February 8.

The centre is to close on Sunday following its last appointment.

Over the past five months, the QMU site has vaccinated 47,039 people.

The team are transferring to the East Lothian Community Hospital in Haddington which is hosting a drop-in vaccination clinic for the over-40s this weekend.

Staff will continue their vital work at its vaccination centre.

SEE MORE: Drop-in Covid vaccines for county's over-40s

Appointments will also shift to the hospital site.

The hospital’s vaccine centre will also increase its capacity and opening hours in a bid to administer more doses of the vaccine every day as part of the general acceleration programme to provide more people with protection.

Modelling shows that once staffing and opening hours are extended, there will be enough capacity to accommodate the majority of future second doses required in the area and provide capacity to support future groups.

Following the closure of the QMU site on Sunday, a six-week decommissioning period will begin before major roadworks in the area.

NHS Lothian says that a number of alternative venues have been explored with partners in recent months but “no suitable venue could be found”.

SEE MORE: Cases of Covid-19 in East Lothian sharply rise as Dunbar sees a spike

Pat Wynne, nurse director of primary and community care at NHS Lothian, said: “The drive-thru has played a crucial role in the vaccination programme so far and we are really thankful to our team who made it work so well.

“Appointments and staff will move over to the East Lothian Community Hospital Vaccination Centre from Monday onwards and everyone is really excited to expand the centre as part of the race to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible.

“This weekend (June 12 and 13), we will also throw open the doors to drop-in clinics for the over 40s who need a first or second dose of AstraZeneca, which will help reach more people.”