The Real Reason Dolly Parton Is Calling People 'Cowards' Taylor Hill/Getty Images By Sarah Title/March 3, 2021 9:34 am EDT Dolly Parton donated $1 million to COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to create the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund to help researchers find a cure or vaccine. This funding partially helped fund the research on Moderna's vaccine, per In early March 2021, the queen of country posted a video of herself receiving the vaccine on Twitter with the caption, "Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine @VUMChealth." The video begins with the country crooner sitting in front of a Vanderbilt Health step-and-repeat talking to her 5.2 million followers, "I'm finally gonna get my vaccine, I'm so excited. I've been waitin' awhile, I'm old enough to get it and I'm smart enough to get it," an apparent dig at those who aren't willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.