Rev. Jesse Jackson, wife Jacqueline, hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19

World famous civil rights activist and two-time US presidential candidate, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and his wife, Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement by his media team on Saturday.

According to the statement, the 79-year-old Jackson, had already been vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose in January during a publicized event as he urged others to receive the inoculation as soon as possible. He and his wife, 77, are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

“Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both. There are no further updates at this time. We will provide updates as they become available,” a statement by Jackson’s non-profit organisation, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, said.

READ ALSO: US records 600,000 COVID-19 deaths as number of cases from Indian variant rises

Despite having been diagnosed for Parkinson’s disease, Jackson has remained active, and has advocated for vaccines for Black people, who lag behind white people in the United States’ vaccination drive.

Earlier this month, he was arrested outside the U.S. Capitol during a demonstration calling for Congress to end the filibuster in order to support voting rights.

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