Dolly Parton's $1M donation helped fund promising COVID-19 vaccine: 'I just wanted it to do good'
Dolly Parton really can do it all. She can sing. She can act. She can… “cure” coronavirus?
OK, not really, as there’s no known cure for COVID-19, but Parton fans are having a lot of fun applauding the country icon for her philanthropic work that might have a big impact on the pandemic.
This week, Moderna announced early results show its COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5 percent effective at preventing infection. A report published in the New England Journal of Medicine credits the “Dolly Parton Covid-19 Research Fund (Vanderbilt University Medical Center)” as a supporter, plus many other groups.
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
Parton became a trending topic Tuesday for her role in Moderna’s success, which she addressed on the Today show.
“Yeah! That’s what I understand this morning,” Parton shared. “I’m just happy that anything I do can help somebody else. When I donated the money to the Covid fund, I just wanted it to do good, and evidently, it is. Let’s just hope we find a cure real soon.”
When I donated the money to the Covid fund I just wanted it to do good and evidently, it is! Let’s just hope we can find a cure real soon. pic.twitter.com/dQgDWexO0C
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) November 17, 2020
In April, Parton announced she was donating $1 million to Vanderbilt towards COVID-19 research.
“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 research of the coronavirus for a cure,” she wrote. “I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”
Twitter is reveling in Parton’s connection to the promising vaccine.
Dolly Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt for vaccine research.
Vanderbilt researchers were involved in the Moderna trials.
Ergo, Dolly Parton helped cure COVID.— Jonathan "Boo and Vote" Cohn (@JonathanCohn) November 17, 2020
Dolly Parton can cure COVID but COVID could never write ‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’ in the same day!!!
— Zara Rahim (@ZaraRahim) November 17, 2020
Shakespeare may have written King Lear during the plague, but Dolly Parton funded a covid vaccine, dropped a Christmas album and a Christmas special.
— Lyz Lenz (@lyzl) November 17, 2020
Not only did Dolly Parton write Jolene and I Will Always Love You on the same day, but she also potentially saved the world. pic.twitter.com/jyvShbaWqA
— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) November 17, 2020
Good morning.
Dolly Parton cured COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/RiGmjOhmgm— Ben Yahr (@benyahr) November 17, 2020
Give Dolly Parton the Nobel Peace Prize
— Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) November 17, 2020
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
