Dolly Parton just got the first dose of the vaccine she helped fund

And she sang a vaccine-themed cover of "Jolene."
Dolly Parton just got the first dose of the vaccine she helped fund

Dolly Parton helped fund the Moderna vaccine last year, and now she's finally had her first dose.

Sporting a glittering sweater with shoulder cutouts — peak shot functionality — and a matching face mask, the country music icon received the vaccination on Tuesday.

"I'm old enough to get it, and I'm smart enough to get it," Parton said in a video posted on Twitter. "I wanted to tell everybody that you should get out there and do it too. I even changed one of my songs to fit the occasion."

Then she launched into a reworked version of her hit song "Jolene," replacing her rival in romance's name with "vaccine."

"Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine," Parton crooned. "I'm begging you please don't hesitate. Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. 'Cause once you're dead, then that's a bit too late."

Then she called out vaccine skeptics who have voiced concerns about receiving the vaccine or flat-out refuse to get it.

"I just want to say to all of you cowards out there. Don't be such a chicken squat," Parton said. "Get out there and get your shot."

When it came time to actually receive the vaccine, Parton donned her mask (she noted that she had a "pretty good distance" between herself and the person filming her) and invited her friend and Vanderbilt University physician Dr. Naji Abumrad to "pop" her with the shot.

"You've been here for years doing research for Vanderbilt and we've been friends forever," Parton told Abumrad. "I thought it was only appropriate that you should be the one to give me my shot today."

Parton befriended Abumrad when she sought medical treatment following a 2013 car accident. Their friendship inspired her to donate $1 million to Vanderbilt in Abumrad's honor for coronavirus research, which partially funded the development of the Moderna vaccine. Parton learned about where her contribution ended up when she was listed as a sponsor in a preliminary report on the vaccine, CNN reports.

"I just felt so proud to have been part of that little seed money that will hopefully grow into something great and help to heal this world," she told BBC's The One Show.

And she couldn't be more thrilled to finally get her shot.

"That didn't hurt," Parton said, ribbing Abumrad while he cleaned the vaccination site. "I did it! I did it!"

Mashable Potato

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