Dolly Parton received the first shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and really made sure to bring a little extra shine to the occasion.
On Tuesday, the country’s icon posted a short video on her social media accounts, which showed Dr. Naji Abumrad, a professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a longtime friend, managing the jab.
Even before Parton disguised himself in preparation for the procedure, however, she sang a few lines from “Jolene,” repeating the lyrics of her 1973 classic to suit the moment.
“Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she whispered. “I beg you, please do not hesitate.”
The video included a sharp message to anti-vaxxers and those on the fence about setting their own vaccination schedules.
“The sooner we get to feel better, the sooner we get back to normal,” she said. “I just want to tell your cowards outside: Don’t be such a chicken squat! Get out and take your shot. ”
Parton wrote, “Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine,” alluding to her $ 1 million donation last year to Vanderbilt University to fund coronavirus vaccine research.
But despite this donation, the nine-time Grammy Award winner said last month that she intends to wait “until more people receive theirs.”
“When I get it, I’ll probably do it on camera, so people know and I’ll tell them the truth, if I have symptoms and all that,” she told the Associated Press in an interview. “It simply came to our notice then. I won’t jump the line just because I could. ”
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