Not content with gifting the world with some of the greatest music ever, delivering an encyclopedia’s worth of quotable soundbites (“It costs me a lot of money to look this cheap”), starring in a brand new Christmas film and donating over 147 million free books to children, Dolly Parton has also played a part in saving us all from the hell hole that is 2020.
Yep, just when you thought Dolly couldn’t be any more of a saint, the country singer and philanthropist donated $1 million (£760,000) towards Covid-19 research which resulted in the Moderna vaccine.
According to The Daily Beast, Dolly became friends with Vanderbilt University surgeon Naji Abumrad after she was involved in a car accident in 2013.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the doctor showed the singer the research the university was doing on antibodies to combat Covid-19, and she stumped up a cool million to the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, which was involved in the Moderna vaccine trial.
After it was discovered that Dolly had played a role in the vaccine’s success, her name began trending on Twitter on Tuesday.
On Monday the US biotechnology firm announced its coronavirus vaccine is more than 94% effective at preventing the disease.
Interim data from the company suggests its jab is highly effective in preventing people getting ill and also works across all age groups, including the elderly.
The UK has secured an initial agreement for five million doses of the vaccine – which works in a similar way to Pfizer’s.
British scientists have hailed the news of Moderna’s vaccine as “tremendously exciting”, however, Health Secretary Matt Hancock stressed that it would not be available in the UK until spring.