Boots has temporarily suspended home delivery of weight loss injections amid concerns that the ongoing heatwave in the UK could compromise the safety and effectiveness of the medication. The decision follows internal testing by the Boots Online Doctor service, which revealed that the current cold chain packaging might not reliably maintain the required temperature for these injections during transit when outdoor temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celsius.
Weight loss injections such as Wegovy and Mounjaro must be stored below 8 degrees Celsius to preserve their quality. However, Boots found that the gel-pack cold chain packaging commonly used across the industry had not been tested in conditions above 30 degrees Celsius. In a series of tests dispatched on June 25, when temperatures rose above this threshold, all eight packages recorded temperatures above the recommended 8-degree limit upon delivery.
The findings prompted Boots to pause home deliveries of these injections on multiple occasions throughout the summer heatwaves. Instead, the pharmacy chain is advising patients to collect their medication directly from Boots stores to ensure the products remain within the safe temperature range.
Mandeep Kaur, pharmacist lead for the weight loss service at Boots Online Doctor, emphasized the importance of adhering to storage guidelines. She stated that exposure to temperatures outside the recommended range could diminish the medicine’s effectiveness and compromise patient safety. Kaur also noted that patient safety takes priority even if it causes short-term inconvenience.
Boots indicated that new packaging capable of maintaining the required cold chain at temperatures up to 35 degrees Celsius is expected to be introduced within the coming weeks. This development is aimed at allowing home deliveries to resume safely, even during high ambient temperatures.
The measure reflects broader concerns about the stability of temperature-sensitive medications amid rising temperatures and highlights challenges faced by pharmaceutical suppliers in ensuring safe distribution during heatwaves.