New Jersey's residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their advocates learned Monday that they will be able to start receiving the COVID vaccine the week of Dec. 28. "Approximately 9,300 residents in our state developmental facilities and group homes... will have access to vaccines as they come into New Jersey," state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said in a press conference. Inoculations will take place in the homes and centers beginning on Dec. 28, Persichilli said. The community of roughly 24,000 people and their advocates had been left in confusion as to what priority it would receive amid the vaccine rollout. Lisa Parles is the mother of Andrew, 30, who has “severe autism and complex medical needs.” From the scarcity of protective gear in March to the current prioritizing of vaccines, 2020 has been difficult.