UNITED STATES—Civil Rights leader Jesse Louis Jackson, 79, and his wife Jacqueline Jackson, 77, have both tested positive for COVID-19 and were admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago on August 22.
A statement authorized by the couple’s son to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition read:
“Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both. There are no further updates at this time. We will provide updates as they become available.”
In January 2021, during an event to urge the African-American community to get vaccinated, Rev. Jackson received a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by COVID Administration Physician, Dr. Kiran Chekka, at the Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago.
Jackson has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and in February 2020 he had a surgical procedure for abdominal distress. In August 2021, he was arrested outside the U.S. Capitol fighting for a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour, eliminating pass voting-rights legislation and stonewalling.
He helped put together the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and ran for President of the United States in 1984 and 1988. His daughter Bernice tweeted on August 21, she was “praying” for the couple.
