Dolly Parton is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and queer people can finally rest easy
Dolly Parton receives the second Moderna vaccine against COVID-19. (Twitter)
Dolly Parton is officially fully vaccinated against COVID-19, meaning the world can rest easy once more.
The country music legend received the second dose of the Moderna vaccine on Friday (2 April), meaning she should be immune to the coronavirus in around two weeks time.
The jab is particularly poignant for Parton because Dolly Parton famously donated $1 million to COVID-19 vaccine research back in the dark days of 2020, when a way out of the pandemic still felt like a distant dream.
The gay icon shared a photo of herself and three staff members at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, all wearing masks, and then shared a second shot of herself receiving the injection.
Dolly Parton ‘gets a second dose of her own medicine’ with Moderna jab
The “Jolene” singer tweeted: “Dolly gets a (second) dose of her own medicine,” and thanked Dr Jani Abumrad, Andrea Calhoun and Heather O’Dell at the medical centre for inoculating her.
Fans responded by thanking the gay icon for sharing the news with the world, with many praising her for showing the world that vaccines are safe and effective.
Got my second Dolly shot today.
Thanks, Dolly
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) April 3, 2021
Countless fans also pointed out that Dolly Parton carefully selected an outfit with a cutout in the sleeve so she could get the vaccine quickly and easily.
I also got my second dose of Moderna on Tuesday. I am so happy to be fully vaccinated! Thank you for helping make it possible, Ms. Dolly!— Darla (@carly__bird) April 3, 2021
The best thing about this is that if you zoom into the second picture, Dolly has clearly had a special vaccine top with a cutout made for the occasion ? https://t.co/FPcl5ycI12— Katie O? (@katie_rose_o) April 3, 2021
Can we just take a moment to notice and appreciate that Dolly has even had an outfit designed around having the vaccine. The shoulder cutout is EVERYTHING ? yasss Dolly https://t.co/R4i1YeIlMe— Cera O'Rourke ? (@HeyLookItsCera) April 3, 2021
Parton shared news of her first Moderna jab on 2 March, posting a video on Twitter of herself receiving the injection.
“I’m old enough to get it, and I’m smart enough to get it,” the 75-year-old said in the video.
“So I’m very happy that I’m going to get my Moderna shot today and I wanted to tell everybody, I think you should get out there and do it too.”
In the widely-shared video, Parton launched into an altered version of her classic hit “Jolene”, retitled “Vaccine”.
“Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate,” Parton sang in the incredible video.
“Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, cause once you’re dead then that’s a bit too late.”
The singer went on to tell fans that she is “dead serious” about the vaccine and said it would be “a great shot in the arm” if the world could “get back to normal”.
Dolly Parton has been a longtime favourite in the LGBT+ community, but her efforts to get coronavirus vaccines over the line have cemented her place as the ultimate icon.
Strut, a gay club in Costa Mesa, California, has even unveiled an enormous mural of Dolly Parton as an angel to celebrate her contribution to medical research.
