CARBON COUNTY, Pa. — Shelves inside Mauch Chunk Pharmacy in Jim Thorpe are full of all sorts of medications, but drugs used to treat diabetes, are becoming increasingly hard to come by.
"Ozempic is definitely in short supply. Certain strengths we haven't been able to get for weeks. Telling patients, unfortunately, that need it to call around if you find another pharmacy that has it in stock we can gladly transfer it, but it's just been unavailable," said Pharmacist AnnMarie Paluck.
She doesn't believe it's going to get any better any time soon.
Ozempic is a Type 2 diabetes treatment to control blood sugar, but it also leads to weight loss, so many people without diabetes use it as well.
Now, a new version of another popular diabetes treatment will soon be sold as a weight-loss drug under the name Zepbound.
The FDA approved the drug. It's similar to Wegovy and Ozempic
"These medications did go out like wildfire because a lot of celebrities got on board with using them, not always for the correct indication, of course," said Dr. Allison Froehlich the endocrinology medical director at Lehigh Valley Practice Group, Pocono Branch.
She says there a certain criteria patients have to meet.
"Documented body mass index of 30 or they could have a body mass index greater than 27 in the presence of other obesity-related, you know, co-morbid conditions, which could be diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol," said Dr. Froehlick.
Along with Zepbound, Dr. Froehlich also recommends a healthy diet and a good workout routine.
To get the drug, you'll need a prescription from your doctor and check if your insurance covers it.
Without insurance, doctors estimate this medicine could cost around 1,000 dollars.
Doctors expect they'll be able to start prescribing Zepbound sometime after the Thanksgiving holiday.