Rev. Jesse Jackson has been moved into rehab and his wife Jacqueline Brown Jackson has been transferred to the intensive care unit as they continue to receive treatment for COVID-19, the family said on Friday.
In a statement excerpted and published by ABC7 Chicago, the family said that as Jackson is recovering from the coronavirus, symptoms of his Parkinson’s disease have “become more in focus.”
Jackson’s wife of 59 years, Jacqueline, has been moved to the ICU at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the family said, adding that she is receiving supplemental oxygen but is breathing on her own and has not been placed on a ventilator.
The couple was hospitalized in August after receiving the COVID diagnosis.
“We continue to receive the love that is being poured out to our family from around the world and it is greatly appreciated, as we express our love and concern for the millions of people who have been victimized by the COVID-19 virus and its variants,” the family statement reads. “We know this is a dangerous disease so please remain prayerful for all of those who are suffering as a result.”
Jesse Jackson, 79, was fully vaccinated in January with two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. His wife, 77, was not vaccinated. In their statement, the family praised the medical care the couple is receiving and encouraged everyone who is not vaccinated to do so “immediately.”
In 2017, the Baptist minister, civil rights activist and two-time Democratic presidential candidate revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder that can cause tremors, stiffness and difficulty balancing, walking and coordinating movement.
“Let us all pray for Rev. and Mrs Jesse Jackson. They need our sincere and intense prayers. Prayer changes things!!!” Rev. Al Sharpton tweeted in support upon learning of their COVID diagnosis.
