There are nine shopping days left before Christmas, but the number of shipping days for gifts is almost done.

Because of the pandemic, more people than ever are doing their holiday shopping online. COVID-19 is also causing staffing shortages at the postal service. Put that together and it means your holiday gifts might not make it to their destinations on time.

The USPS has an alert on its website that says its experiencing unprecedented volume increases and is asking for customer to have patience.

The winter storm that is expected to blanket the Northeast won’t help matters either, especially when it comes to big shipping companies delivering the COVID-19 vaccine.

The bottom line: If you are getting your holiday shopping done online, get it done fast.