DOLLY PARTON
During the Covid years, I wrote an article for WomanGoingPlaces in praise of the women who had been involved in pioneering vaccines against this deadly plague.
The article was entitled:
That is because most of these remarkable women were aged over 50.
One of them was the fabulous Dolly Parton.
In her honour, I am re-posting the entry about her in the article.
“ The American company Moderna was right up there amongst the frontrunners to first develop a Covid19 vaccine. And the reason they were in that position was because of iconic performer Dolly Parton, 74.
It was actually two young women who led the development of Moderna’s Covid19 vaccine in the U.S. One was Kizzmekia Corbett, a young black 35 year-old immunologist at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). She collaborated with 35 year-old Hamilton Bennett, the senior director at Moderna in designing and engineering the mRNA vaccine.
However, when these two women began their research, Moderna was a small, relatively unknown biotech company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But less than a month after Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic, Dolly Parton donated $1 million to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University and encouraged others to donate.
Her seed money helped fund the breakthrough by Moderna to develop the second coronavirus vaccine with a stunningly high protection rate of 90+%. Dr. Naji Abumrad of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center acknowledged: “Without a doubt in my mind, Dolly Parton’s funding made the research toward the vaccine go 10 times faster than it would be without it.”
Thank you Dolly.
If you liked our post, please consider becoming a supporter of
A social enterprise advocating for economic security and social inclusion of Australian women aged 50+.
We campaign against the discrimination and general invisibility women 50+ face.
We tell the stories of women 50+ who are re-defining how women age.
SUBSCRIBE to receive latest posts in your Inbox.
SUPPORT our advocacy and keep us accessible to all women.
Please follow and like us:
RIP Dolly. I will always love you……….
Thank you Sue. An extraordinary woman and her unforgettable song.
Thank you Augustine. Such strong and thought provoking ideas in your articles in regard to older woman.
I feel for many of my friends and local women. Dealing with a struggling life.
Thank you Jan. The stereotypes about older women are not only wrong, they are also very damaging. Each one of us is faced with them.
The way you keep winning gold in international masters swimming championships is inspiring.
A wonderful inspiring woman in so many ways
Sadly missed 😢
Thank you Sue. I can’t think of any other public figure who so inspired such an incredible range of people. Even the Coldstream Guard band played ‘Nine to Five’ outside Buckingham Palace in her honour.
Thank you again for this great article and being a champion for older women. As one myself I wonder how I got here so quickly, what a ride it has been. Dolly was the most gracious, funny, clever, talented and generous soul. She never wavered from her belief in the power of kindness and generosity. Vale Dolly, the world will miss you .
Thank you Denise. You are right. With all her talent, it was her generous soul that moved mountains. Her father apparently said that he was most proud of what she did to teach children to read. He couldn’t read.