'Vaccine, vaccine': Dolly Parton breaks into song as she receives jab she helped fund
3 March 2021, 14:29
Dolly Parton gets shot of Moderna vaccine that she helped fund
Country star Dolly Parton rewrote her hit song Jolene to encourage people to get vaccinated, as she inoculated with the Moderna Covid vaccine that she helped fund.
In a video posted on social media, the 75-year-old said she was "so excited" to get the jab, adding she was "old enough to get it and smart enough to get it".
"I wanted to tell everybody that you should get out there and do it too. I have even changed one of my songs to fit the occasion," the 9 to 5 singer continued.
"Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I'm begging of you, please don't hesitate," she sung, adapting the words from her hit Jolene.
"Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, because once you're dead that's a bit too late."
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Ms Parton, who has sold over 100 million records, said while "trying to be funny now", she was "dead serious" about getting the jab.
"I think we all want to get back to normal, whatever that is and that would be a great shot in the arm wouldn't it. If we could get back to that.
"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."
Earlier in the pandemic, the singer donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Centre. Some of the money went towards funding early trials of the Moderna jab, which she was given on Tuesday.
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Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca: The Coronavirus Vaccines Explained
The UK medicines regulator - the MHRA - approved the Moderna jab in January, with 17 million pre-ordered doses expected to arrive later in the spring.
The pharmaceutical firm said in January that they believe it will work against the UK and South Africa Covid variants and are running trials to make it even more effective.
Read more: What Covid vaccines are available and what are the differences between them?
Ms Parton is only the latest celebrity to have received their vaccine and urged others to take it too.
Veteran actor Sir Ian McKellen, 81, said he felt "euphoric" after being vaccinated at Queen Mary's University Hospital in London.
Meanwhile, Sir Elton John and Sir Michael Caine appeared in an NHS advert urging the public to get the jab.
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