Name: Dolly Parton gets first dose of Covid vaccine she helped fund
Brand: theguardian.com
SKU: theguardian-com-1077
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Dolly Parton gets first dose of Covid vaccine she helped fund

preview

This article is more than 1 year oldThis article is more than 1 year oldCountry music star sings adapted version of Jolene while getting Moderna jab in NashvilleFirst published on Tue 2 Mar 2021 19.18 ESTDolly Parton burst into song on Tuesday as she received her first dose of the Moderna Covid vaccine that she helped to fund.The country music star, 75, launched into an adapted version of one of her best-known hits, 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” to the tune of Jolene, which she wrote and recorded in 1973.Despite her humorous take on getting the jab, Parton had a serious message for her fans and the wider US public. “I’m so excited. I’ve been waiting a while,” she said in a video posted from the university. “I’m old enough to get it and I’m smart enough to get it. I’m trying to be funny now, but I’m dead serious about the vaccine. 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?” is seen as a key issue in the US. While President Joe Biden has promised that there will be enough vaccine for every adult in the country by the end of May, surveys have persistently shown that about a third of the population is reluctant to get the jab – with minority groups especially cautious.“I just wanted to encourage everybody because the sooner we get to feeling better, the sooner we are going to get back to being normal,” Parton said.Less diplomatically, Parton added: “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.”The singer earned praise last year when it emerged that she was helping to fund the Moderna vaccine efforts through a donation of $1m (£716,000) to Vanderbilt University medical centre near her home in , Tennessee.The medic administering her dose at the Vanderbilt site was Naji Abumrad, an old friend of Parton’s who treated her after she suffered minor injuries in a car accident in 2013. He had encouraged her to support the research, and her contribution, which became known as the Dolly Parton Covid-19 research fund, helped pay for the first part of the vaccine research.He praised her for urging others to get the vaccine, and his son Jad Abumrad almost went as viral as Dolly on social media for saying it was “wild” to see his father administering the dose.After Dr Abumrad knocked an item off the table while preparing the jab, a giggling Parton quipped: “I didn’t know you was going to be so clumsy, I hope you’re going to do better with my shot!”On getting her first jab, she said: “That didn’t hurt.”Parton is among celebrities to publicly confirm they have had a coronavirus vaccine, following on from the likes of Elton John, Michael Caine, David Attenborough, Tony Robinson and Ian McKellen. Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates the US has now vaccinated more than 50 million adults with at least one dose.

This article is more than 1 year oldThis article is more than 1 year oldCountry music star sings adapted version of Jolene while getting Moderna jab in NashvilleFirst published on Tue 2 Mar 2021 19.18 ESTDolly Parton burst into song on Tuesday as she received her first dose of the Moderna Covid vaccine that she helped to fund.The country music star, 75, launched into an adapted version of one of her best-known hits, 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...

public

Joe Biden’s choice for secretary of state marks a sharp break with the Trump administration. The former deputy secretary of state is a committed internationalist, who spent some of his childhood in Paris and is fluent in French. He views US engagement with the world, and particularly Europe, as vital. He was a member of Bill Clinton’s White House staff in the 1990s and served under President Barack Obama. In 2019 he expressed strong opinions about Brexit, saying: “This is not just the dog that caught the car, this is the dog that caught the car and the car goes into reverse and runs over the dog. It’s a total mess.”  Janet Yellen – treasury secretary  Janet Yellen Janet Yellen. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP The 74-year-old economist was the first woman to chair the US Federal Reserve, and looks set to achieve another first: becoming the country’s first female treasury secretary. Professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley, a former assistant professor at Harvard and a lecturer at the London School of Economics, Yellen is an expert in labour markets and has highlighted the economic impact of uneven growth in the jobs market. Donald Trump declined to reappoint her after his election, making her the first central bank chief not to serve two terms since the Carter administration.  Alejandro Mayorkas – secretary of homeland security  Alejandro Mayorkas Alejandro Mayorkas. Photograph: Joe Skipper/Reuters Described by the former Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro as “a historic and experienced choice to lead an agency in desperate need of reform”, the Cuban-American lawyer served as the deputy secretary of homeland security for nearly three years under Obama. Formerly Obama’s director of US citizenship and immigration services, if confirmed, the 61-year-old would be the first Latino and the first immigrant to lead the department.  Linda Thomas-Greenfield – US ambassador to the United Nations  Linda Thomas-Greenfield Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Photograph: Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA The Louisianian was formerly assistant secretary of state for African affairs under the Obama and Trump administrations. She was also the US ambassador to Liberia under George W Bush and Obama. Of her appointment, Thomas-Greenfield, 68, has said: “My mother taught me to lead with the power of kindness and compassion to make the world a better place. I’ve carried that lesson with me throughout my career in foreign service and, if confirmed, will do the same as ambassador to the United Nations.”  John Kerry – special presidential envoy for climate  John Kerry John Kerry. Photograph: Adam Berry/Getty Perhaps the best known face internationally, Kerry will take the lead on combating the climate crisis. The 76-year-old lost the 2004 US election to George W Bush, before going on to become secretary of state from 2013-17 under Obama.  Avril Haines – director of national intelligence  Avril Haines Avril Haines. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock The New York-born lawyer was previously deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the first woman to hold that position. She worked closely with Biden from 2007-08 in her role as deputy chief counsel for the Senate Democrats. Haines, 51, was also the first female deputy national security adviser and, if confirmed, will become the first woman to be the director of national intelligence.  Jake Sullivan – national security adviser  Jake Sullivan Jake Sullivan. Photograph: Washington Post/Getty Sullivan was the national security adviser to Biden when he was vice-president and served as deputy chief of staff to Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state. Since 2014, Sullivan, 43, has been teaching at Yale law school.

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/martin-belam

Martin Belam

PA Media

TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and Guardian Unlimited, is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers The Guardian and The Observer, as well as a substantial body of web-only work produced by its own staff, including a rolling news service.

Dolly Parton gets first dose of Covid vaccine she helped fund

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS