Doctors at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital have been “carefully monitoring” Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline Jackson, after the two were hospitalized with COVID-19.
Rev. Jackson, 79, had been fully vaccinated after receiving two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. But Mrs. Jackson, 77, has not been vaccinated, family spokesman Frank Watkins told NBC News Monday. Watkins did not elaborate.
The civil rights leader’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition said Saturday the two were taken to the hospital after testing positive for the virus. The couple is now said to be resting comfortably and “responding positively” to treatment.
Related Story: Actor Michael Jai White Says His Oldest Son Died From COVID-19
Their son, Jonathan Jackson, gave an update on his parents’ conditions on Sunday to local media outlets.
“She had been real lethargic with flu-like symptoms, went to the hospital Friday,” he said. “Then it was diagnosed that she and my dad both had contracted COVID.”
Jonathan added that his mother’s age made her case more “challenging.”
“She is having some oxygen, but is able to function and breathe on her own without a respirator,” he explained. “Nothing severe. Because of her age and her current health, it is more challenging.”
Rev. Jackson, a two-time presidential candidate, has Parkinson’s disease and was treated several months ago after undergoing gallbladder surgery.
His positive COVID-19 test is an example of a “breakthrough” infection, where people who are vaccinated still get infected. The CDC says with breakthrough cases, “The risk of infection, hospitalization, and death are all much lower in vaccinated compared to unvaccinated people.”
As hospitalizations around the country surge because of the highly contagious Delta variant, the FDA on Monday fully approved the Pfizer vaccine.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
