Dolly Parton Says She Got a 'Dose of Her Own Medicine'

Saying she was getting a "dose of her own medicine," Dolly Parton on Tuesday got her first COVID-19 vaccination shot. The 75-year-old helped to fund the Moderna vaccine by donating $1 million to Vanderbilt researchers, USA Today explains. In fact, she received the shot from the Vanderbilt physician she befriended in 2013, and it was that friendship that led to her donation. "I've been waitin' a while and I'm old enough to get it and I'm smart enough to get it," Parton says in an Instagram video. "I just wanna say to all of you cowards out there: Don't be such a chicken squat, get out there and get your shot."

She also changed the lyrics to her famous tune, "Jolene," the AP reports, singing: "Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you please don't hesitate. Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, 'cause once you're dead, then that's a bit too late." Parton had earlier said she would wait to get her shot until vaccines were more widely available, rather than appear to be skipping the line. "I think I’m getting more credit than I deserve," the country singer said last month of her help with funding. "But I was just so happy to be a small part, and to plant a seed that would grow into something bigger." (More Dolly Parton stories.)