Topline
Country music star Dolly Parton got a taste of her own medicine Tuesday when she received the first dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine, which was researched and developed partially with funding from a $1 million donation she made last year.
Dolly Parton at the 2020 CMA Awards.
Key Facts
Parton posted a video of herself getting the jab at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center to encourage her supporters to get vaccinated.
“I’m old enough to get it, and I’m smart enough to get it,” 75-year-old Parton said, adding she “wanted to tell everybody that you should get out there and do it too.”
Parton even sang a parody version of her hit song, Jolene, that had the lyrics, “vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate,” and “Once you’re dead, that’s a bit too late.”
“I know I’m being funny now, but I’m dead serious about the vaccine,” Parton said.
Crucial Quote
“I just want to say to all of you cowards out there: Don’t be such a chicken squat. Get out there and get your shot,” Parton said.
Key Background
Last year, Parton donated $1 million to coronavirus research, some of which was used in the Moderna vaccine’s development. Parton found out her donation had been used along with the rest of the world in November, when she was thanked by name in a Moderna preliminary report. "I'm just happy that anything I do can help somebody else,” Parton said on Today shortly after. “When I donated the money to the Covid fund, I just wanted it to do good. Evidently, it is.”
Further Reading
Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton Donate To Fight COVID-19 As Music Industry Appeals For Government Action (Forbes)
Dolly Parton Declines Proposal To Build A Statue Of Her On The Tennessee Capitol Grounds (Forbes)
