BRITS will be able to get Ozempic-style fat jabs from high street pharmacies, according to reports.
Drugs like and could be available over the counter after a short consultation at the cost of an , they claim.
Right now, only a few can get their hands on the powerful jabs – and only after speaking to a doctor and trying other weight-loss methods first.
Ministers are planning to massively widen access to the jabs through “creative”; routes. This includes rolling them out in high street , health centres and apps, according to the Daily Mail.
The shake-up could slash wait times, making it far easier for eligible Brits to get the drug, with some currently stuck in a two-year queue.
Once the deal is signed, Brits could walk into a pharmacy, have a quick check-up, and walk out with a month’s supply – all for just £9.90, the same as an NHS prescription.
That’s a lot cheaper than paying £150 a month to get the injections privately, which are currently available from some pharmacies.
But the reports have been described as “speculative”;, with health experts warning obesity drugs must only be used under medical supervision by those who are eligible.
A government spokesperson told Sky News: “As the government shifts the NHS from sickness to prevention, we will be looking across the board at how these drugs can be made available to more people who can benefit from them.
“The NHS is already tackling obesity in innovative ways, including through community care models and digital technologies, to help deliver these drugs as part of a rounded package of care.”;
Previous estimates from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have suggested that 3.4 million people in England could benefit from weight loss injections.
But last December, NICE said these jabs would only be available to 220,000 patients on the NHS in the first three years – meaning millions of others could end up waiting up to 12 years for treatment.
In clinical trials, people lost 15 per cent to 20 per cent of their body weight, depending on the drug.
They’ve also been shown to cut the risk ofand.
It comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) prepares to officially endorse weight-loss drugs to tackle obesity in adults for the first time.
