Dolly Parton has said that she is a “very proud girl” after learning that her $1 million donation funded the research that aided the development of a major vaccine for Covid-19.

It was confirmed earlier this week that Parton had dished out $1 million of her own money to aid research by the Vanderbilt University Medical Center since the start of the pandemic.

The Vanderbilt research has subsequently played a key role in the development of a vaccine from U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna on Monday.

The Moderna vaccine boasts nearly 95% protection against the disease, and follows the announcement of a separate immunisation from pharmaceutical firm Pfizer last week.

Responding to the news during an interview on The One Show, Parton said: “I’m a very proud girl today to know that I had anything at all to do with something that’s gonna help us through this crazy pandemic.”

'I'm a very proud girl today to know that I had anything at all to do with something that's gonna help us through this crazy pandemic .'

She's written over 3000 songs and sold over 100 million albums, but this could be @DollyParton's biggest contribution to the world yet? pic.twitter.com/xX4H2TNmrq

— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) November 17, 2020

She added on social media: “When I donated the money to the Covid fund I just wanted it to do good and evidently, it is! Let’s just hope we can find a cure real soon.”

Announcing the gesture back in April, Dolly wrote on Instagram: “My longtime friend Dr Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards that research of the coronavirus for a cure.

“I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”

Dolly will be seen next in Netflix’s latest seasonal offering, Christmas on the Square.

It will feature 14 original songs from the country artist and is set for a worldwide release on November 22.