Dolly Parton funded research into the Covid-19 Moderna vaccine

Working 9 to 5, trying to end the global pandemic.

It has emerged that singer Dolly Parton part-funded research into the development of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine is said to be almost 95% effective at combatting the virus, according to research published by Moderna earlier this week. However, perhaps the most surprising aspect of this new vaccine can be found amongst those funding it. Look closely at the list of donors adding their financial backing to the Moderna vaccine, which you can see in the New England Journal of Medicine here and you'll see none other than Dolly Parton... Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a research facility in Nashville, Tennessee, close to where Parton was brought up. She was announced as a donor to the Vanderbilt facility in April this year, in honour of a friend who worked there as a surgeon. Speaking back in April, Jeff Balser, the President and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center said: "Dolly's amazing generosity is a source of inspiration and will have a lasting impact on the battle against Covid-19." Moderna's vaccine was put under the microscope in a trial involving 30,000 people. The breakthrough follows in the footsteps of a collaboration from Pfizer and BioNTech, who have produced a vaccine with an efficacy rate of over 90%. Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna's can be stored at relatively normal temperatures. Pfizer's vaccine must be kept in ultra cold storage at around -75C, while Moderna's remains stable at minus 20C for up to six months.