Merrill Gardens at Santa Maria receives final COVID-19 vaccination for residents

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Ellen and Donald Shiverbeck of Merrill Gardens go for a quiet walk after being quarantined for two weeks.

“We take each day at a time. And we are very thankful we have this place to live," says Ellen Shiverbeck.

Merrill Gardens is one of the largest senior living centers in Santa Maria,

“We’ve got a lot of people here, 400 people that we support. And we have to be very careful because this thing could’ve gone both ways,” says general manager Audie Sherberg of Merrill Gardens at Santa Maria.

While Sherberg say they faced an outbreak of COVID-19 cases, he believes the worst is over, thanks to a dedicated staff and the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I think that’s going to be a very critical key component, is to get our residents and staff vaccinated. That’s what we really focused on this last month and that helped,” says Sherberg.

Sherberg says 93 percent of their residents and employees have been vaccinated.

Merrill Gardens is gradually opening services like indoor dining, hair salons and entertainment as case rates improve.