As B.C. battles its fifth wave of COVID-19 with record numbers of daily cases, the booster shot program on Vancouver Island is expanding.

“I’m ecstatic, I’m pretty grateful. It’s been pretty touch and go on if we were able to get in or not,” said Claudia Malacrida, who was relieved to receive her booster shot ahead of Christmas.

At Oak Bay’s Fort Royal Pharmacy, a last-minute delivery means a safer holiday season for many.

“We received over 500 doses of the Moderna for the booster program and we opened up our slots today and pretty much filled up within five minutes,” said Hans Bawa, who manages Fort Pharmacy Oak Bay.

As the provincial program rushes to get shots into arms as quickly as it can, the Omicron variant surges and Ron Norman and Joan Young are being left behind.

“It shouldn’t be this hard to get a booster shot. It shouldn’t be this hard,” said Norman.