Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and his wife, 77-year-old Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19.
Jackson’s activist organization the Rainbow PUSH Coalition announced the news in a statement to WMAQ-TV on Saturday, confirming the couple was being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The nonprofit didn’t provide any more information about the Jacksons’ conditions.
“Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both,” read a statement by their son, Jonathan Jackson. “Anyone who has been around either of them for the last five or six days should follow the CDC guidelines.”
Jesse Jackson, 79, was reportedly fully vaccinated, having received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Jan. 8 at the Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago. The activist broadcasted the injection, and urged the Black community to follow his lead and get inoculated as soon as possible.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing disparities in our nation and specifically in the Black community resulting in a hospitalization rate 3.7 times greater and a death rate 2.8 times greater than that of the White community,” he said in a January press release. “We need our strong leadership in our government to have the vaccines administered to people of color as soon as possible before the death rate rises to catastrophic proportions.”
Shortly after receiving his first dose, Jackson underwent gallbladder surgery and spent weeks recovering at a rehabilitation center, where he had also received years of treatment for Parkinson’s Disease.
Jonathan told the Associated Press that, as of Sunday night, Jesse and Jacqueline Jackson have been “responding positively” to COVID-19 treatments, and remain under careful observation by doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
“Both are resting comfortably and are responding positively to their treatments,” Jackson said in a statement. “My family appreciates all of the expressions of concern and prayers that have been offered on their behalf, and we will continue to offer our prayers for your family as well.”
Jackson said family members grew concerned in recent days over Jacqueline’s unspecified underlying health condition. “We ask that you continue to pray for the full recovery of our parents. We will continue to update you on a regular basis,” he added.
