The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recommended this year's Covid-19 shot for the Vaccines for Children program this week. Hannah Beier/Reuters/File

Valerie Brickey went to three pharmacies and her regular pediatrician in late September in an effort to find a Covid-19 vaccine for her 16-year-old granddaughter, Ryleigh.

Both Brickey and her granddaughter, who live together in a small apartment near Durham, North Carolina, have health problems that make them more vulnerable to severe Covid symptoms.

Brickey keeps an eye on Covid levels in wastewater and knew that rising numbers in the area were putting them both in harm’s way.

But their hunt for an updated vaccine for Ryleigh has been fruitless.

Like millions of kids in the United States who are covered by Medic

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