Country music legend Dolly Parton made a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in April 2020, helping support critical early research behind Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine during the first months of the pandemic.
The donation helped fund research efforts at the Tennessee-based medical center as scientists worked to find ways to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus.
Vanderbilt’s research included work connected to Moderna’s vaccine development and clinical trials, making Parton an unexpected supporter of one of the world’s most important medical efforts during the pandemic.
Parton announced the gift in April 2020, explaining that her longtime friend, Dr. Naji Abumrad, had told her about the promising work happening at Vanderbilt.
Dolly Parton attends We Are Family Foundation honors Dolly Parton & Jean Paul Gaultier at Hammerstein Ballroom on Nov. 5, 2019 in New York City.Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images
“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,” Parton wrote on social media in April 2020, per Fortune Daily. “I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”
“Keep the faith,” she added.
Her contribution later received wider attention when Moderna announced promising results from its COVID-19 vaccine trials. The Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund was even acknowledged in the footnotes of a scientific report published in the New England Journal of Medicine about the vaccine’s early clinical trial results, said CNBC.
When Parton made her donation, the United States and many other countries were facing lockdowns, rising infections and growing fears about the coronavirus. Scientists were working hard to understand the disease and find a safe and effective vaccine.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, located in Parton’s home state of Tennessee, was among the institutions involved in the research. Its work included helping assess whether a vaccine could produce an immune response in people, an important step in studying its potential to protect against COVID-19.
In an interview with People at the time, Parton shared how fans reacted after learning about her connection to the vaccine.
“It was a big shock,” she told People at the time. “Everybody was calling congratulating me, and I was saying, ‘Well, for what?’ And then of course my fans took it and ran with it: ‘I’m getting the Dolly vaccine! I’m getting the Dolly juice!’ I guess they thought if Dolly got it, it might be pretty safe.”
In March 2021, Parton received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Vanderbilt University. She shared a video of the moment on social media and encouraged others to get vaccinated when they became eligible.
Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine. @VUMChealth pic.twitter.com/38kJrDzLqC
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 2, 2021She even changed the lyrics of her famous song “Jolene” for the occasion, singing a playful version that began with the words “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine.”
The moment brought together her music, humor, and support for medical research. It also showed that her contribution went beyond writing a check, as she used her popularity to help encourage public confidence in vaccination.
Despite receiving praise for her role, Parton remained humble about the donation and the attention that followed.
“I got more credit than I deserved,” she added. “I was just trying to put my money where my heart is.”
Related: Oprah Winfrey personally gave $10 million for Houston’s Angel Lane in 2005; 65 homes and a community center followed
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