Veronica Wolski, Woman With COVID Who QAnoners Demanded Hospital Treat Ivermectin, Dies

A woman who became the center of a harassment campaign against a Chicago hospital as QAnon supporters demanded they treat her COVID-19 diagnosis with ivermectin has died, according to reports.

Veronica Wolski, a popular QAnon advocate best known for hanging banners from a bridge in Chicago, died in the early hours of Monday morning after spending weeks in hospital with COVID-19.

Her death was announced on Telegram by conspiracy theorist Lin Wood, one of the biggest and most influential QAnon supporters. Wood previously urged his 814,000 Telegram followers to ring up the Amita Health Resurrection Medical Center and demand that Wolski be treated with ivermectin instead of approved and tested drugs or vaccines.

Tributes were also paid to Wolski on other QAnon telegram channels and Twitter following reports of her death.

In a statement to Newsweek, Olga Solares, spokeswoman for Amita Health Resurrection Medical Center, said: "We can confirm that this patient passed away early this morning. We will not be providing any additional comment about this patient or topic."

In his post on Telegram, Wood claimed that Wolski had been murdered by the hospital for refusing to treat her COVID with ivermectin.

"I have just learned that Veronica Wolski saw the face of God this morning at 12:44 a.m.," Wood said.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that these medical murders stop NOW and the perpetrators be brought to justice.

"Veronica will be on her bridge in Heaven looking down on us. We must do our best to make sure Veronica did not leave this Earth in vain."

Just hours before reporting her death, Wood posted a video online where he called hospital staff and demanded that she be released from hospital, claiming the person on the call would be guilty of murder if she did not.

Wood also made a similar statement late on Sunday night, claiming he had spoken to Wolski's power of attorney and that Amita Resurrection Hospital and its medical providers would be "complicit in murder" if they do not immediately release Veronica to receive the medical treatment she is requesting.

Wood once again shared the hospital's phone number while encouraging his hundreds of thousands of followers to call it and "let his hospital hear your voices NOW."

Other popular QAnon supporters who encouraged their followers to harass the hospital staff into treating Wolski with ivermectin include Sidney Powell, who along with Wood attempting to claim the 2020 election was rigged with the widely dismissed "kraken" lawsuits, and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

In a previous statement to the Chicago Sun-Times, Solares confirmed she was aware of the campaign by the QAnon supporters without addressing it directly.

"At AMITA Health, our first priority is the health and safety of our patients. Our physicians and clinicians follow the full guidance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in the treatment of COVID-19," Solares said.

In August, FDA warned people that ivermectin has not been authorized or approved for use in treating COVID-19. Though used to treat horses for parasites and worms, it has been approved for human use to treat infections such as head lice and skin conditions like rosacea, but not COVID.

"Never use medications intended for animals on yourself or other people. Animal ivermectin products are very different from those approved for humans," the FDA said. "Use of animal ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in humans is dangerous."

The CDC also said that the number of people in the U.S. calling poison control centers after suffering adverse effects from taking ivermectin has increased five-fold compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Update: 09/13: This article has been updated with comment from the Amita Health Resurrection Medical Center.