Famed civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, 79, and his wife, Jacqueline, 77, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19.
On Saturday, the couple was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the medical is “carefully monitoring their condition” because of their ages.
“Both are resting comfortably and are responding positively to their treatments,” their son, Jonathan Jackson, said. “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.”
Both have been vaccinated against the virus.
Jackson has been vocal about the impact the coronavirus has had on the African American community — who are disproportionately the most sweeping victims of the virus.
“We know that people should honor the [social distancing] protocols, but some find it more difficult because of congested conditions or their transportation,” he said last year in a statement published by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
“A lot are untested and uninsured. If you’re uninsured, you can go to the hospitals only to be told you can’t get service, so you end up resorting to your own home remedies, or you end up in the hospital too late.”
“We are disproportionately incarcerated, which are petri dishes for the coronavirus, and those in prison and jails are not being tested,” his statement reads in part. “Between health conditions, poverty, misinformation and institutional neglect, the African American condition should not be a surprise to anyone. So when diseases and epidemics come – AIDS, SARS, Ebola or the Coronavirus – we are most susceptible to all of it.”
We wish Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jacqueline a swift recovery.
