Country music legend Dolly Parton has revealed her pride at helping to develop the most effective vaccine for coronavirus developed to date.
The 74-year-old donated $1 million (£750,000) to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a partner of the Moderna firm, in April and now they have come up with a vaccine which has a provisional effectiveness rate of 94.5%.
Speaking about her contribution on The One Show, Parton admitted: "I am a very proud girl today that I had anything at all to do with something that will help pursue this crazy pandemic. I feel very honoured and proud.
"When the pandemic started many months ago I felt led to put some money into the programme at Vanderbilt Hospital, it's a wonderful hospital and it's been so good to me and my family over the years.
"I donated a million dollars and they called it the Dolly Parton COVID fund. Out of that, it got more money and it started developing many wonderful things.
"I just felt very proud to be part of that little seed of money that will grow into something great and that will help to heal this world. Lord knows we need it."
The Moderna vaccine is set to be one of multiple vaccines to be made available in early 2021 and the UK has already secured 5 million doses of it - enough to vaccinate 2.5 million people.
Neil Wilkes
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