We don’t deserve Dolly Parton because the country musician has been praised for “playing an important role” in the battle for a coronavirus vaccine.
Back in April, Dolly Parton announced that she would making a donation to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville to assist with coronavirus vaccine 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 that research of the coronavirus for a cure,” Parton wrote in an Instagram post at the time.
“I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”
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That donation helped fund one of the trial sites for the Moderna vaccine, which shows 95% protection from coronavirus.
As BBC note, Dolly’s donation was also used to support a convalescent plasma study researching antibody therapies.
“Her gift provided support for a pilot convalescent plasma study that one of our researchers was able to successfully complete,” Vanderbilt University Medical Center spokesperson John Howser told BBC News.
“Funds from Dolly’s gift are also supporting very promising research into monoclonal antibodies that act as a temporary vaccine for Covid. Two of these antibodies are now being tested by a global pharmaceutical firm.”
Dolly Parton has truly been a shining light amid the coronavirus pandemic. In March, she launched a weekly video series Goodnight With Dolly. A self-isolation inspired project that saw her read from a collection of children’s books.
“This is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while, but the timing never felt quite right,” Parton shared in a statement the time. “I think it is pretty clear that now is the time to share a story and to share some love. It is an honor for me to share the incredible talent of these authors and illustrators. They make us smile, they make us laugh and they make us think.”
Parton read from two of her own books, I Am a Rainbow and Coat of Many Colors.
She also read from several other beloved novels: There’s a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long; Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney; Pass It On by Sophy Henn; Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell; Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen; Max & The Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper; Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña; and The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper.
