CHICAGO — Doctors at a Chicago hospital continued to observe the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, on Sunday after the couple was hospitalized for COVID-19, one of their sons said.

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According to The Associated Press, Jonathan Jackson issued a statement Sunday saying his father and mother, ages 79 and 77, respectively, were responding well to treatment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where they were admitted Saturday.

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“Both of my parents have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and especially because of their ages, physicians at the Northwestern University Memorial Hospital are carefully monitoring their condition,” the statement began. “Both are resting comfortably and are responding positively to their treatments.”

The statement continued: “My family appreciates all of the expressions of concern and prayers that have been offered on their behalf, and we will continue to offer our prayers for your family as well. We ask that you continue to pray for the full recovery of our parents. We will continue to update you on a regular basis.”

The Rev. Jackson received his first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in January and publicly encouraged others to get the shot. It was not immediately known whether Jacqueline Jackson had been vaccinated, the AP reported.

Earlier this month, a New York Times analysis of data from 40 states showed that breakthrough infections and hospitalizations were rare, occurring in as few as 0.1% of hospitalizations and 0.2% of deaths in some areas. The rates varied widely by state, however. The same data showed that as many as 5% of hospitalizations and 6% of COVID-19-related deaths in some states were due to breakthrough cases in immunized individuals.

American public health officials last week recommended booster shots for people who have received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines as the highly transmissible delta variant continues to drive up infection rates nationwide. The shots will be available beginning in September and are recommended eight months after people have gotten their last vaccine doses.

More than 170 million Americans – about 51.5% of the population – have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Sunday.

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– The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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