Global Ozempic shortage affects First Nations communities – CBC

Nov 28, 2023

Health Canada says Ozempic shortages could last until March 2024

The global shortage of the diabetes medication Ozempic has diabetics like Eleanor Michael from Sipekne’katik worried about finding alternatives.

Ozempic has seen a skyrocketing global demand, in part due to prescriptions related to weight loss.

Michael, whose Mi’kmaw community is about 50 kilometres northwest of Halifax, was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this year and prescribed the drug but now she can’t fill her prescription.

“[Ozempic] was keeping my sugars down,” Michael said.

She said she’s scared to try other medications, because arthritis medicine she also takes increases her blood sugar levels.

First Nations people living on-reserve have rates of diabetes three to five times higher than non-Indigenous people in  Canada, according to the Government of Canada.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/ozempic-shortages-first-nations-1.7041324

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