22nd August, 2021
Vaccinated U.S. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline have both been hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19.
The announcement was made Saturday by the group he founded, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Jackson is 79 years old and Jacqueline is 77.
Both were admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the Coalition said.
“There are no further updates at this time. We will provide updates as they become available,” the statement added.
It urged anyone who was in the vicinity of the couple in recent days to follow public health guidance.
In January, Jackson received his first dose of Pfizer BioNTech covid-19 vaccine in a publicised event in Chicago.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017.
He had spent decades advocating for the rights of Black Americans and other minorities dating back to the turmoil of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, spearheaded by his mentor Martin Luther King.
Jackson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, attracting Black voters and many white liberals in mounting unexpectedly strong campaigns.
But he fell short of becoming the first Black major party White House nominee.