Dolly Parton is doing her part to help end the COVID-19 pandemic and save lives. Since March, the “9-to-5” singer donated $1 million into research on a COVID-19 vaccine.
So far, the singer has had quite a busy year. She’s been busy promoting her upcoming book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, and also sharing words of wisdom. In addition to dropping a new Christmas album and starring in a Netflix special, Parton also helped COVID-19 research.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, Parton donated $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The medical center has been crucial in the development of a vaccine for the virus. They’ve worked with the U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna.
Together, they’ve announced a successful vaccine in combating COVID-19 yesterday (Nov. 16). The vaccine would provide 95% protection against the virus, according to BBC. Additionally, the pharmaceutical firm Pfizer announced they created a separate successful vaccine last week.
Dolly Parton Donated to the Vaccine Research
According to the article, the “Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund” is one of the donors that contributed to funding the vaccine.
Fact-checking this was worth it just to see @DollyParton in the acknowledgments of a @NEJM article. And I thought I couldn’t love her more. https://t.co/S3njHEFcGT pic.twitter.com/WcrFIrHp67
— Dr. Meade Krosby (@MeadeKrosby) November 17, 2020
Back in April, Parton announced she made a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt for research into a vaccine. She also revealed she’s longtime friends with one of the researchers, Dr. Naji Abumrad. She encouraged her followers to also make contributions of their own.
In her post, Parton wrote, “My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards that research of the coronavirus for a cure. I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”