The superstar previously donated $1 million toward coronavirus research Dolly Parton may have donated $1 million toward COVID-19 research, but the 75-year-old music legend recently said she has not yet received the vaccine. “I’m going to get it, though,” Parton told CNN. “I didn’t want to jump line. I didn’t donate the money so I could be protected. I did it for everybody.” In April 2020, Parton donated $1 million to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help fund coronavirus research. In November, it was announced that Parton’s donation helped fund the Moderna vaccine, which trials have proven to be 94% effective against the virus.