Music legend Dolly Parton has been lauded by fans as a key player in potentially curing COVID-19 after reports that she donated money toward the vaccine research for Moderna.
On Monday, the company behind the vaccine candidate said it appears it is 94.5% effective in protecting against the virus that has ravaged the U.S. and dozens of other countries, according to preliminary data from the company’s still-ongoing study. Before Moderna’s newfound success, Parton reportedly donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s efforts to develop the vaccine trial and clinical research for the drug. She was subtly mentioned in the footnotes of the New England Journal of Medicine’s announcement, referring to her donation as the “Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund.”
In April, she revealed she donated the funds on behalf of her longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who has been researching at Vanderbilt for years.
“[Abumrad] informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
Moderna’s vaccine, created with the National Institutes of Health, is being studied in 30,000 volunteers who received either the real vaccination or a dummy shot. On Sunday, an independent monitoring board broke the code to examine 95 infections that were recorded starting two weeks after volunteers' second dose — and discovered all but five illnesses occurred in participants who got the placebo.
Dr. Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, welcomed the “really important milestone” but said having similar results from two different companies is what’s most reassuring.
“That should give us all hope that actually a vaccine is going to be able to stop this pandemic and hopefully get us back to our lives,” Hoge told The Associated Press.
Parton has become as known for her philanthropy as she is for her massive musical catalog, which includes hits including “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene.” The 74-year-old has been helping young people with literacy with her book donation program “Imagination Library” since 1995. She also pledged thousands of dollars to families in Tennessee affected by the wildfires in 2016.
The news of her donation Tuesday had many of her fans giving her credit for being the antidote to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now claimed the lives of more than 244,000 and affected millions.
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