Demand for weight loss drugs has soared over the last year, to the point that semaglutide — better known by the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy — has been in short supply at pharmacies nationwide.
Doctors who treat obese patients are increasingly frustrated that the people who really need the injection medications aren’t getting them.
Seventy percent of Americans are overweight or obese and at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, non-Hispanic Black adults have the highest rates of obesity, followed by Hispanic adults.
“A majority of my patients can’t afford to pay $1,300 a month, especially for a medication that they need to be on long term,” said Dr. Veronica Johnson, an obesity specialist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
“As a Black woman and treating patients who look like me, knowing that a lot of Black women struggle with the disease of obesity, I, unfortunately, can’t treat a lot of my patients the best way that I would like to.”
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