NASHVILLE, Tenn. — "Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. I'm begging of you please, don't hesitate. Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. 'Cause once you're dead, then that's a bit too late," Dolly Parton sang to the tune of Jolene, before receiving the first dose of her Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
She received the first dose of the vaccine on Tuesday, March 2 after she helped fund the Moderna vaccine last November. Dr. Naji Abumrad, her longtime friend, administered the vaccine. He previously asked her to help fund Vanderbilt's work with Moderna on the vaccine.
One month later, she received her second dose. In a post on Facebook, she thanked Dr. Abumrad, as well as Andrea Calhoun and Heather O'Dell from Vanderbilt Health Center.
It was developed with support from the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund, officials said. She donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University to go towards that research, encouraging others to make donations too.
"I'm dead serious about the vaccine," Parton said in a video posted to her official Twitter account. "I think we all want to get back to normal, whatever that is."
She also encouraged people to get their COVID-19 vaccine if they are eligible for it. On Tuesday, Tennessee health leaders also announced that they were moving to Phase 1c of their distribution plan starting Monday.
"I just want to say to all you cowards out there, don't be such a chicken squat," she said. "Go out and get your shot."
She received the shot at Vanderbilt University and said that she even made sure to wear a shirt with openings, allowing the doctor to administer the vaccine. She also made sure to wear a mask while the doctor gave her the shot.
"I did it, I did it!" she said towards the end of the video after the doctor was finished giving her the first dose of the vaccine.
