The B.C. government has announced that the number of Ozempic prescriptions being dispensed to Americans has plummeted by at least 99 per cent after the province enacted new regulations and a doctor behind an “unusually high percentage” of prescriptions was temporarily suspended.
From Jan. 1 to April 19 of this year, 30,700 Ozempic prescriptions were dispensed to U.S. residents by B.C. pharmacies. Between April 20 and May 31, that same number dropped to 111 — a 99.6 per cent reduction, according to a press release from the B.C.
Ministry of Health. The Ministry told Global News back in January that it was monitoring B.C.’s supply of Ozempic, a Type 2 diabetes drug that has made headlines for its off-label use as an obesity treatment, because of “recent social media trends and shortages in the United States.” It appears those U.S.
shortages were driving Americans to seek out the drug in Canada, driving fears that Canada would also face an Ozempic shortage as a result.