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Dolly Parton gets Covid vaccine and tells people not to be ‘cowards’ about it

Dolly Parton receives her first shot of vaccine
Dolly Parton receives her first shot of vaccine (Photo: Twitter)

Dolly Parton has been filmed receiving her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The 75-year-old posted a video of herself receiving the jab yesterday at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Parton received the jab developed by Moderna, which she partly helped fund with a $1milllion donation last year to the center where she got her shot. Some of the singer’s money went towards funding an early stage trial of the Moderna vaccine, which was subsequently found to be 95% effective.

Related: Lawmakers are considering a Dolly Parton monument & we don’t know what took so long

To mark the occasion of her own vaccination, Parton even treated viewers to a reworked version of her classic hit, ‘Jolene’, singing, “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you, please don’t hesitate. Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, because once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late.”

Parton said “I’m old enough to get it and I’m smart enough” to get the vaccine, and told people that the more people who get vaccinated, the sooner things can get back to “normal, whatever that is.”

“I just want to say to all of you cowards out there, don’t be such a chicken squat! Get out there and get your shot.”

Parton wore a dress with cutaway shoulders, to make it easier for Vanderbilt’s Dr. Naji Abumrad to administer the vaccine.

Last month, Parton told USA Today she’d held off getting the vaccine as she didn’t want to appear to be “jumping the line.” She also said she felt her contribution to the vaccine’s development had been over-hyped.

“I think I’m getting more credit than I deserve. But I was just so happy to be a small part, and to plant a seed that would grow into something bigger.”

Related: Ian McKellen “euphoric” at receiving COVID vaccine in the UK

Other celebrities to have been vaccinated and to encourage others to do so include Ian McKellen, Elton John, Bette Midler, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. President Joe Biden got vaccinated on December 22, live on TV, in a bid to encourage others to follow his example.

Earlier this week, it was reported that former President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump got vaccinated in the White House in January but chose not to announce the fact, according to CNN.

Related: 5 reasons gay men should get the Covid-19 vaccine

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