Ok, so the year is 2020 and Dolly Parton is responsible for funding a vaccine for a deadly disease that the sitting American president has all but ignored. Strange sci-fi short story plot or real life? Who in the hell would choose the latter if given that sentence any time before March of this year? Yet here we are, that’s all true. Parton’s well-known benevolence has apparently drifted into the medical world, and a lot of us have Dolly to thank for that.
But the situation is just strange and surreal enough, and everyone stuck at home during the pandemic are just bored enough, that the internet is really showing out when it comes to jokes and commentary about the matter. They’ve had me cackling all day, so I’m collecting a few of the best here to entertain you.
Joining in the fray are the likes of Steve Martin:
I imagine Dolly Parton sitting in a quiet room, manipulating RNA while writing a hit song.
— Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) November 19, 2020
This extremely viral “Jolene” joke:
Why are we not discussing the fact that the vaccine with the good news this morning was partly funded by Dolly Parton?
Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vacciiiiiiiiiiiiiine
— Jonathan Katz, hoping for pumpkin snacks (@JonathanPKatz) November 16, 2020
Then there’s more specific jokes you have to be a real Dolly fan to get, like this one:
Is it true Dolly Parton discovered the vaccine by clacking her acrylic nails together to simulate the sound of Covid antibodies?
— Randy Rainbow (@RandyRainbow) November 18, 2020
Which is, of course, referencing this classic Dolly moment:
Dolly Parton not only funds public health endeavors like the Covid vaccine, has given away 100 Million books, and has been willing to take flack to speak out for BLM,
BUT she can also do this!pic.twitter.com/vIftlnVHmI
— just thinking (@isawthesethings) November 17, 2020
A little joke about the vaccine’s 95% effective rate and the Parton classic film, 9 To 5
that’s why it’s working nine-ty-five
— Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) November 17, 2020
Some virologist humor:
we now literally know that Dolly Parton could do the polio vaccine but Jonas Salk couldn’t do Jolene
— fuck donald trump :))) (@kevinkgartland) November 18, 2020
My personal favorite, a way to possible get through to the anti-vaxxers among us:
Pfizer should hire Dolly Parton to sing “Vaccine” to the tune of “Jolene” and then EVERYONE would take it
— Tim Long (@mrtimlong) November 17, 2020
Now, if Dolly could just get to work on restoring democracy, we’ll be all set.