What Is Wegovy?

1. What is Wegovy approved for?

Three indications for the injection, two for the tablet, each from its own trial.

The MASH approval is accelerated, which means continued approval may depend on a confirmatory trial showing clinical benefit. Wegovy has no diabetes indication; the same molecule carries that label as Ozempic. Among the weight-loss brands, Zepbound has the sleep apnea indication Wegovy lacks, and lacks the cardiovascular and liver indications Wegovy has.

Adolescents. The injection also carries a weight-reduction indication for patients 12 and older with obesity, based on STEP TEENS: 201 adolescents randomized to 2.4 mg or placebo alongside lifestyle intervention, mean BMI change -16.1% versus +0.6% at 68 weeks, and 73% of the semaglutide group lost 5% or more of weight against 18% on placebo (Weghuber 2022, NEJM). The tablet has no adolescent indication.

2. What is the Wegovy dose schedule?

The injection escalates on a four-week calendar from a dose the label describes as for initiation only. The label allows a four-week delay at any step that is not tolerated.

Two things people miss. The label names 1.7 mg as a maintenance dose in its own right, not only a step. And the 7.2 mg dose, sold as Wegovy HD since April 2026, is available only to adults who have tolerated the 2.4 mg dosage for at least 4 weeks and for whom additional weight reduction is clinically indicated; it is not the regimen for the adolescent, cardiovascular, or MASH indications, which have separate maintenance-dose guidance. The tablet has no adolescent or MASH indication. Adolescents 12 and older follow the same four-week escalation to the 2.4 mg maintenance dose used in adults; the label does not describe a separate pediatric ladder. The titration schedule tool dates the injection ladder.

Taking the tablet. Once daily on waking, on an empty stomach, swallowed whole with up to 4 ounces of plain water, then at least 30 minutes before eating, drinking anything else, or taking other oral medicines. Only a small share of an oral peptide is absorbed, and food or extra water cuts it further. The oral vs injectable page explains why.

Missed dose. Injection: if the next scheduled dose is more than 2 days away, take the missed dose as soon as possible; if it is less than 2 days away, skip it. Tablet: skip it and take the next one the following day. Never double. The missed-dose tool applies each rule to a date.

3. How much weight do people lose on Wegovy?

Each top dose has its own placebo-controlled trial in adults with obesity and no diabetes.

The Wegovy vs Zepbound page has the head-to-head in full, and the Ozempic vs Wegovy page explains why the diabetes brand of the same molecule stops at 2 mg.

4. Does Wegovy reduce heart attacks and liver disease?

Wegovy has demonstrated cardiovascular outcomes and MASH biopsy improvement; it has not demonstrated reductions in clinical liver outcomes such as cirrhosis, liver transplant, or death.

SELECT is the only cardiovascular outcomes trial of a weight-loss dose in people without diabetes, which is why Wegovy carries a cardiovascular indication and Zepbound does not. The 6.5% versus 8.0% event rate is a hazard ratio of 0.80 over a mean follow-up of 40 months in a trial run at sites worldwide. ESSENCE enrolled adults with biopsy-confirmed MASH and moderate to advanced fibrosis, and measured the biopsy endpoints above, not clinical liver outcomes like cirrhosis, transplant, or death. The MASH indication is an accelerated approval based on those biopsy results; continued approval may depend on verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory outcomes trial, which is ongoing.

5. Pens, syringes, and the tablet

The injection ships as single-dose pens at every step from 0.25 to 2.4 mg, a 7.2 mg pen branded Wegovy HD, single-dose syringes, and a four-dose FlexTouch pen holding 9.6 mg for people already on the 2.4 mg maintenance dose. It is injected under the skin of the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm, any day, any time, with or without food, and the day can be changed if two doses stay at least 48 hours apart.

The tablet comes in 1.5, 4, 9, and 25 mg, sold in 30-count bottles, and has no adolescent or pediatric indication. It is the same molecule that Novo sells as Rybelsus at 3 to 14 mg for type 2 diabetes; Wegovy tablets go higher because the weight-reduction trial used 25 mg. The label gives specific instructions for switching between the two: from the 2.4 mg injection, initiate 25 mg tablets one week after the last injection; from the 25 mg tablet, initiate the 2.4 mg injection the day after the last tablet, or the 1.7 mg injection if the 25 mg tablet was not tolerated. A prescriber applies these instructions rather than restarting the dose ladder from its first step. Wegovy HD reached U.S. pharmacies on April 7, 2026, about three weeks after its approval.

6. What are the side effects and warnings?

The label opens with a boxed warning on thyroid C-cell tumors, seen in rodents, with a contraindication for a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2. The warnings and precautions cover acute pancreatitis, acute gallbladder disease, hypoglycemia with insulin or a sulfonylurea, acute kidney injury from dehydration, severe gastrointestinal reactions, hypersensitivity, diabetic retinopathy complications in people with type 2 diabetes, heart rate increase, and pulmonary aspiration under anesthesia.

Most gastrointestinal events occur during dose escalation, which is why the ladder climbs in four-week steps and allows a delay at any step. The 7.2 mg trial added altered skin sensation, dysaesthesia, in 22.9% of that group. The label also asks for the drug to be stopped at least two months before a planned pregnancy because of the long washout, and it is not recommended during pregnancy. Because semaglutide delays gastric emptying, the label flags orally administered drugs with a narrow therapeutic window or that depend on rapid gastrointestinal absorption; unlike the Zepbound label, Wegovy’s carries no specific instruction about oral hormonal contraceptives.

7. How do you track Wegovy?

Because the half-life is about a week, every dose overlaps the last several, and steady state arrives four to five weeks after each step; the drug stays measurable in circulation for about five weeks after the last injection. The albumin binding that gives semaglutide its week-long duration also explains the routes: about 89% of an injected dose reaches circulation, against roughly 0.4% to 2% of an oral dose, which is why the tablet needs a much higher milligram amount and the empty-stomach, minimal-water rule to hit a comparable effect. A log that records product, date, milligrams, and injection site shows where the ladder stands and whether a late dose fell inside the 2-day rule. For the tablet, the entry is product, date, milligrams, and whether the fasting rule was kept. The half-life visualizer draws the curve, and how GLP-1 tracking works covers what to record.

8. What Is Wegovy FAQ

• How much weight do people lose on Wegovy?

  In STEP 1, adults with obesity and no diabetes lost 14.9% of body weight over 68 weeks on 2.4 mg, against 2.4% on placebo. In STEP UP, 7.2 mg produced 18.7% over 72 weeks against 3.9%. The 25 mg tablet produced 13.6% over 64 weeks in OASIS 4. In SURMOUNT-5, the head-to-head with Zepbound, Wegovy 2.4 mg produced 13.7% against tirzepatide's 20.2%.

• What is the Wegovy dosing schedule?

  Injection: 0.25 mg weekly for weeks 1 to 4, 0.5 mg for weeks 5 to 8, 1 mg for weeks 9 to 12, 1.7 mg for weeks 13 to 16, then 2.4 mg from week 17. The label lists 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg as maintenance doses, and allows an increase to 7.2 mg in patients who have tolerated the 2.4 mg dosage for at least 4 weeks and for whom additional weight reduction is clinically indicated. Tablets: 1.5 mg daily for days 1 to 30, 4 mg for days 31 to 60, 9 mg for days 61 to 90, then 25 mg.

• What if I miss a dose of Wegovy?

  Injection: if the next scheduled dose is more than 2 days away, take the missed dose as soon as possible; if it is less than 2 days away, skip it and take the next dose on the regular day. Tablets: skip the missed tablet and take the next one the following day. Never double a dose.

• What is Wegovy HD?

  The 7.2 mg once-weekly injection, the same semaglutide at a higher dose, approved March 19, 2026 and sold under the Wegovy HD name. The label permits it for weight reduction in adults who have tolerated the 2.4 mg dosage for at least 4 weeks and for whom additional weight reduction is clinically indicated. It is not a starting dose and is not the regimen for the adolescent, cardiovascular, or MASH indications.

• Is the Wegovy pill as effective as the injection?

  Close, in separate trials. The 25 mg tablet produced 13.6% weight loss over 64 weeks in OASIS 4; the 2.4 mg injection produced 14.9% over 68 weeks in STEP 1. No trial has compared them directly. The tablet must be taken on waking, on an empty stomach, with up to 4 oz of water, then a 30-minute wait, because only a small share of an oral peptide is absorbed.

• What is the difference between Wegovy and Ozempic?

  Same molecule, different label and doses. Ozempic is approved for type 2 diabetes with a 2 mg ceiling; Wegovy is approved for weight reduction, cardiovascular risk reduction, and MASH with a 2.4 mg maintenance dose and a 7.2 mg option. The Ozempic vs Wegovy page sets the labels side by side.

• Is Wegovy approved for teenagers?

  The injection, not the tablet. Wegovy injection is approved for weight reduction in adolescents 12 and older with obesity, based on STEP TEENS: 201 adolescents on 2.4 mg or placebo plus lifestyle intervention, mean BMI change -16.1% versus +0.6% at 68 weeks. The cardiovascular and MASH indications, the 7.2 mg dose, and the tablet are adults only.

• What are the side effects of Wegovy?

  In the label's trials at 2.4 mg versus placebo: nausea 44% versus 16%, diarrhea 30% versus 16%, vomiting 24% versus 6%, constipation 24% versus 11%, abdominal pain 20% versus 10%, headache 14% versus 10%. The boxed warning is thyroid C-cell tumors seen in rodents; the label also warns on pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, hypoglycemia with insulin or sulfonylureas, kidney injury from dehydration, severe gastrointestinal reactions, diabetic retinopathy complications, and heart rate increase.

9. Sources