Dolly Parton Donated $1M To Fund Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine Research

A Queen And A Hero

Yet another reason to love Dolly Parton.

Less than a month before coronavirus was declared a pandemic back in April, the iconic musician and performer donated $1M to a COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. And just recently, it has been revealed that it helped fund Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine which is now the second COVID-19 vaccine with a high success rate of 94.5% thus surpassing Pfizer’s 90%.

Parton’s name came up in the New England Journal of Medicine’s preliminary report as one of the sponsors. She originally handed over the donation to honor her friend and Vanderbilt professor of surgery Dr. Naji Abumrad. Other donors include Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and National Institutes of Health, Bethesda.

Parton said on the Today show, “Back when we started the fund, I was just hoping we might find some cures or whatever, but now it looks like it might be happening and I’m just very grateful that this is happening. If I had anything to do with it, then that’s great.”

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, vaccinations might even begin this late December but those belonging to high-risk groups will be prioritized – such as the frontliners and healthcare workers, elderly, and people with underlying health conditions.