Dolly Parton is recognised all over the world. The country star, with her bright blonde hair and Southern twang, has been an entertainment industry icon for decades and always made sure to do her part for humanitarian efforts.
More recently, the star gave her support, and money, to coronavirus research. Just after the COVID-19 crisis had been declared a pandemic, Dolly donated $1 million (N385,681,000) to Vanderbilt University’s research into the virus.
The university’s research was directly involved in the development of the Moderna vaccine, which has had an incredibly high success rate against the virus.
Dolly Parton’s name appears in the preliminary report on the vaccine alongside other donors and sponsors of the research.
Parton was quoted by CNN as saying in an interview: “I felt like this was the time for me to open my heart and my hand and try to help.”
The country singer’s donation, which amounts to more than N385,000,000, was vital in the latest attempt at combating the virus that threw the world into its current health crisis.
Dolly Parton's $1 million donation to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University helped fund Moderna's vaccine https://t.co/AQUyD1jivl
— CNN (@CNN) November 17, 2020
Moderna had developed a vaccine that had widespread ramifications.
Africans recently learnt that Pfizer’s heralded vaccine would likely never be widely used locally to combat COVID-19. However, a newly-lauded vaccine has provided some renewed hope that a more tangible answer is indeed on the horizon.
A report from US firm, Moderna, announced that its experimental vaccine against the coronavirus was 94.5% effective, a second major breakthrough in the race towards a vaccine.
Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, had confirmed that the interim analysis of late-stage studies has given ‘clinical validation’ that the vaccine has the ability to prevent Covid-19.
The company aims to obtain emergency approval in the United States and other countries within the next few weeks and expects to have 20 million doses ready to ship by the end of this year.
The findings is a major breakthrough for African nations due to the fact that the vaccine can remain stable at standard refrigerator temperatures. The company had also revealed that it would be able to withstand long-term storage in freezer temperatures considered standard for a period of up to six months.
While it remains unclear how long the effects of the vaccine will last or what the impact on elderly patients will be, Peter Openshaw from the Imperial College of London hailed the company for their efforts:
“This news from Moderna is tremendously exciting and considerably boosts optimism that we will have a choice of good vaccines in the next few months.”
