A COVID-19 vaccine should be available for assisted living community, independent living community and nursing home residents and staff members by December or January, federal officials said Wednesday.

“We anticipate that initially, the vaccine will be available in a limited supply. And when the supply of vaccine is limited, our efforts to vaccinate may need to focus on those who are at highest risk of severe disease as well as those critical to the response, including those who provide care to people in the healthcare system,” Jay Butler, M.D., deputy director for infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a press conference held at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta and streamed online. “People at risk include those in long-term care facilities like nursing homes and assisted living facilities as well as independent living facilities,” he added.

Butler said that “it’s reasonable to expect” that one or two vaccine products will be available by the end of the year. Secretary for Health and Human Services Alex Azar provided a more detailed expected timeline for administration.

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