Unproven claim by influencer goes viral in Australia, leads to shortage of type 2 diabetes medicine. Photograph:( Reuters )
The popularity of this drug soared when Wegovy, which is a semaglutide injection for chronic weight management in adults, was approved by US Food and Drug Administration. It was given approval for usage for people, who suffer from obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. Seeing this, many social media influencers endorsed the medicine for weight management and shared its reviews online. But the drug is still not approved for weight loss in Australia
Anything can be published on social media. It is important to not blindly follow it and make a learned judgement. This holds true for an incident recently where an influencer on TikTok suggested that using the Type-2 diabetes medication, Ozempic (semaglutide), can help in weight loss. When the video of the influencer went viral, the citizens in Australia began buying the drug in bulk, media reports said. It led to a shortage of the medicine. The shortage with many medical bodies has been confirmed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in a statement.
“The increased demand is due to extensive prescribing for obesity management, for which Ozempic is not indicated. The shortage is significantly affecting people using Ozempic for its approved use for type 2 diabetes,” the statement read as quoted in a report published by The Guardian.
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The popularity of this drug soared when Wegovy, which is a semaglutide injection for chronic weight management in adults, was approved by US Food and Drug Administration. It was given approval for usage for people, who suffer from obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. Seeing this, many social media influencers endorsed the medicine for weight management and shared its reviews online. But the drug is still not approved for weight loss in Australia.
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The medicine can also have side-effects like nausea and vomiting. Dr Karen Price, president, General Practitioners of Royal Australian College told the news outlet, “There are lots of issues people need to be aware of but most importantly, it’s not yet approved in Australia or the UK for weight loss. It’s being used off-label, which means that this huge demand is now stopping people who have a genuine need for the medication for their diabetes.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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