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COVID-19: A surprise dose of Dolly Parton

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Country singer Dolly Parton joked about getting her coronavirus vaccination shot Tuesday at Vanderbilt Health in Tennessee, alluding to her help funding the Moderna vaccine.

Parton, 75, posted a photo of herself getting the shot to her social media accounts with the caption “Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine.” Last year, Parton announced that she had donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University to help find a cure for Covid-19.

She also posted a video urging her followers to be vaccinated if they are eligible and said that she was “old enough” and “smart enough” to get her shot. Parton also played with the words to her famed ballad “Jolene” for the occasion.

“Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” Parton sang. “I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate.”

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Parton encouraged people to “get out there and get your shot” before showing her own vaccination, administered by her friend Dr. Naji Abumrad. She told fans that it didn’t hurt.

“I’m so glad that you’re here and that you’re giving the great message,” Abumrad said.

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Parton mentioned Abumrad in a post last year announcing her donation. Her participation in the Moderna vaccine research was revealed in a preliminary report that credited “the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund” in November.

“I’m just happy that anything I do can help somebody else, and when I donated the money to the Covid fund, I just wanted it to do good,” Parton said on NBC’s “TODAY” show in November. “Evidently, it is. Let’s just hope we find a cure real soon.”

The Food and Drug Administration authorized Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in December, making it the second vaccine to be given the special authorization. It appeared that Parton received her first dose Tuesday and will need to get her second dose in about four weeks, following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations.

Parton told The Associated Press last month that although she was eligible to get the shot, she wanted to wait so it didn’t seem as though she had received preferential treatment.

“I don’t want it to look like I’m jumping the line just because I donated money,” Parton said. “I’m very funny about that.”

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]