A $1 million donation by Dolly Parton appears to have helped fund the production of a promising new coronavirus vaccine. In April, the country singer announced she had donated the sum to Vanderbilt University Medical Centre in Nashville, Tennessee, for coronavirus research.
This week, US company Moderna announced its coronavirus vaccine may be 94.5% effective against Covid-19, and Ms Parton is namechecked in the preliminary report.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the report states that the work was supported by the "Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund (Vanderbilt University Medical Center)" amongst other groups.