Reverend Jesse Jackson, 79, and his wife have both been hospitalized after falling ill to a breakthrough case of COVID-19. The reverend is fully vaccinated and received his first dose of the vaccine in January in a largely publicized event meant to incentivize the public. He and his wife are both being treated at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. “Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both,” according to a statement from the Jacksons’ nonprofit, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
“There are no further updates at this time,” the statement continued, per AP News. “We will provide updates as they become available.” Rev. Jesse Jackson has been a longtime civil rights advocator. A protege of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the reverend gained a name working on a long list of rights issues, one of them being voter disenfranchisement.
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Jesse Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease in 2017, though that hasn’t stopped him from staying at the forefront of many political causes. He previously urged Black people within the US to get vaccinated as they lagged behind White people in the U.S. Earlier this month, he was arrested during a protest in the Nation’s capitol while he was on the frontlines calling for Congress to end the filibuster and support voting rights. Jackson announced the diagnosis in a statement. “My family and I began to notice changes about three years ago,” he wrote in a statement according to CNN. “After a battery of tests, my physicians identified the issue as Parkinson’s disease, a disease that bested my father.”
“Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it,” added the two-time presidential candidate. “For me, a Parkinson’s diagnosis is not a stop sign but rather a signal that I must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease’s progression.”Jackson underwent surgery in February of this year for abdominal pain. The surgery was completed quickly and he was released without issues. “He is in good spirits and will be discharged in a few days,” the nonprofit added. “Thank you for your continued love, support, and prayers.”
