Country music superstar Dolly Parton made a large donation to the fight against COVID-19 back in April.
The 74-year-old singer and actress contributed $1 million to help fund Moderna’s research to find an effective vaccine for COVID-19, according to the BBC.
The donation was also used to fund a convalescent plasma study.
Convalescent plasma therapy involves using blood from people who have developed coronavirus antibodies to treat people battling the infection.
Parton donated the money to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennesee. It was one of the trial centers for the Moderna vaccine.
Parton’s generous donation eventually yielded fruit when Moderna recently announced they had developed a COVID-19 vaccine that is 94.5 percent effective, according to early data.
Moderna, a biotechnological company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, hopes to produce 500 million to one billion doses of the vaccine by the end of 2021.
A report on the vaccine, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that the Dolly Parton Covid-19 Research Fund was one of the major donors to the research to develop the vaccine.
Dolly Parton made the generous donation after a friend contacted her
Parton made her donation after Dr. Naji Abumrad, a professor of surgery at the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation, contacted her earlier in 2020. He shared the news that researchers were making progress in the search for effective treatments for coronavirus infections.
Parton told BBC One’s The One Show that she felt “honored and proud” to have supported the research into a COVID-19 vaccine.
She added that she was not the only one who donated to the research and that others donated millions as well.
“I felt so proud to have been part of that little seed money that hopefully will grow into something great and help to heal this world,” she said. “Lord knows we need it!”
Parton and Abumrad reportedly met and struck a lasting friendship after Abumrad treated her for injuries she sustained in a car crash in 2013.
The news about Dolly Parton’s philanthropy comes after she released a new song in May 2020. The song, titled When Life is Good Again, aims to help fans cope with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
People have been praising Dolly Parton for her philanthropic gesture
People have been praising Dolly Parton and expressing gratitude for her contribution to the life-saving research.
Dolly Parton 2020 net worth
Dolly Parton was born in a cabin in rural Tennessee to Robert and Avie Lee Parton. She was the fourth of 12 siblings.
Parton’s family was poor but she found fame and fortune through her country music career.
Parton’s estimated net worth in 2020 is $500 million.
She is a noted philanthropist who has supported many worthy causes, including children’s healthcare.
She is also an animal rights advocate.
Parton has been married to her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, for 54 years.