Boots has temporarily halted home delivery of weight loss injections due to safety concerns resulting from the fifth heatwave of the summer.
Heat-health alerts issued across England
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued yellow and amber heat-health alerts affecting the whole of England this week as highs of 37C could be recorded in some areas over the coming days. The NHS has issued safety guidance to people in the most affected areas, urging them to keep cool, drink plenty of fluids and avoid the sun during the hottest part of the day.
The pharmacy chain announced on Wednesday (12 August) that it had made the decision to pause delivery of the medications in order to keep the substance safe in transit.
Cold chain packaging fails above 30C
The decision follows new testing by the Boots Online Doctor service that found cold chain packaging could not reliably keep weight loss injections within their required temperature range once outdoor temperatures exceeded 30C. It is advising patients to collect their medication from a local Boots store instead.
Weight loss injections like Wegovy and Mounjaro must be kept below 8C to maintain their quality and effectiveness, but Boots said the gel-pack cold chain packaging used across the industry to transport medications that require refrigeration had never been tested above 30C – despite the increasing frequency of heatwaves.
The Sun reports that eight tests sent out by Boots on June 25, coinciding with outdoor temperatures exceeding 30C the next day, found each one recorded temperatures above 8C on arrival, indicating that standard packaging could not consistently keep the medication within its required temperature range throughout transit.
Patient safety first
The chain said it had already temporarily paused its home deliveries of the jabs on several occasions this summer as temperatures skyrocketed. It said new packaging was expected to be introduced in the coming weeks, enabling the medication to be sent out at temperatures of up to 35C.
Mandeep Kaur, pharmacist lead for the weight loss service at Boots Online Doctor, said: "Weight loss injections are sensitive to temperature. It’s important to store them as recommended, since exposure to temperatures outside the recommended range may affect the medicine’s quality and effectiveness."
Ms Kaur continued: "We’d always encourage patients to check their medication when it arrives and before administering them: look out for the solution appearing cloudy, discoloured or containing visible particles, or the packaging feeling warm to the touch on arrival. If in doubt, don’t use it and contact your provider."
"This is exactly why we’ve made the decision to temporarily pause deliveries during this summer’s heatwaves rather than risk sending out medication we couldn’t be confident had stayed within the recommended temperature range, which may impact its effectiveness and quality."
"Patient safety has to come first, even if that means a short-term inconvenience," she added. "It’s also worth knowing that not all weight loss injections have identical storage requirements – some brands allow a little more flexibility once they’re out of the fridge than some other brands."
"But the margin isn’t unlimited, and once the medication has been exposed to temperatures above 30C, it needs to be checked and replaced if it is not suitable for use, rather than relying on that flexibility to cover for a hot delivery."
