jabs

Simple mistakes could not only invalidate travel insurance but also leave the medication ineffective or even ‘unsafe’

A warning has been issued to thousands of people who will be travelling abroad on weight loss treatments this summer as mistakes could mean they are not only ineffective but could be “unsafe” to use. Millions of people currently use the jabs to help weight loss but there are strict rules around their use.

A survey by ZAVA found an estimated 337,000 people will holiday on Mounjaro or Wegovy this summer however if it is not carried and stored correctly it can be left “ineffective”. Experts at the firm have now provided three tips for travelling with Mounjaro and Wegovy, alongside the most important things to know before heading off.

You could be invalidating your travel insurance

When taking out travel insurance, you often need to declare any pre-existing conditions during an online application or by calling your insurer directly. Failing to declare the use of weight loss treatment could render your policy invalid, leaving you unable to make a claim should something go wrong, which could result in a bill worth thousands of pounds.

You should also check import restrictions to any country you are travelling to and verify if the medication can be brought into the country and how much you’re allowed to carry for personal use. Make sure to also take evidence of your prescription with you, whether it be in paper or digital form, and that your treatment is in its original packaging.

Insurers like Admiral don’t typically cover GLP-1 injections bought from an unofficial programme, if a medical professional isn’t monitoring them or hasn’t been declared. It is strongly advisable to follow up with a direct call to your insurer to confirm everything is properly documented. When in doubt, contact your insurer and your GP before travelling.

Storing jabs in hold luggage could freeze your medication

Putting injection weight loss treatments in with checked luggage can be a huge risk. The compartments where checked baggage is stored undergo huge changes in temperature and pressure that may alter the effectiveness of, or even damage, your medication. It can get very cold and may freeze and unfreeze the liquid in the pen, making the injections unsafe to take. Make sure to take a carry-on bag with you to store your medication in.

Essential liquid medicines are allowed through security, even if they are over 100ml; security often advises keeping medicines separate in your bag where possible, informing the Security Officer and bringing supporting documentation if possible. After this step, make sure that your medication stays in its original packaging. If you have any specific queries about carry-on luggage and medication, contact your airline provider.

Not having access to a fridge could damage your medication

Both Mounjaro and Wegovy must be stored by following the guidelines outlined in the patient information leaflets. The medication may be kept in a refrigerator at 2°C to 8°C or stored at room temperature, provided it does not exceed 30°C, for a maximum of 28-30 days.

Any pens exposed to temperatures above 30°C, or left unrefrigerated for more than 28 days for Wegovy and 30 days for Mounjaro, should be discarded immediately, as it could be unsafe to take. Patients travelling with weight loss injections are advised to contact their accommodation in advance to confirm refrigerator access and to verify that the appliance maintains an appropriate temperature, as this can vary between units. As the jabs are administered once weekly, most patients will use each pen within the 30-day unrefrigerated window, unless travel is extended or a dose is missed.

May 8 (UPI) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted his support for NATO, the pope and Italy on Friday during his visit to the country, but said President Donald Trump may still continue social media attacks.

“The president will always speak clearly about how he feels about the U.S. and U.S. policy,” Rubio said after being asked by reporters in Rome if he would ask Trump to limit his verbal attacks. He said, “the president of the United States is always going to act on what’s in the best interest of the United States.”

He added that Trump’s decision to remove troops from Germany was already in the works.

“There was always a plan to do some shifting within NATO,” Rubio said. He added that the troops that are being removed from Germany “represent less than 14% of our total troop presence there.”

Rubio, who visited Pope Leo XIV with his wife and several State Department employees Thursday, gifted the pope a crystal football with the State Department’s logo on it, while the pope gave Rubio a pen made from an olive branch.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gave Rubio documentation of his family’s Italian origins in Piedmont, in the country’s northwest.

Rubio said it was a “true honor” to get the documentation. He said visiting Piedmont is “one more reason to be back” in Italy. He’ll give a speech in Italian next time he visits, he said.

“I need to learn a third language,” Rubio said.

Meloni and Trump had been cordial until the president began attacking the pope and Italy stayed out of the war in Iran.

Meloni said the meeting was a “frank dialogue, between allies who defend their own national interests but who both know how precious Western unity is.”

Polls in Italy show that most Italians are against joining the war against Iran. Meloni said, “we are not at war, and we do not want to go to war.”

MODEL Lottie Moss has revealed she went back on fat jabs despite ending up in hospital and having a seizure the last time she tried them.

The 28-year-old admitted to injecting Mounjaro, but gave it up for being “too expensive”.

Lottie, the younger half-sister of supermodel Kate Moss, said: “I went on Ozempic for a bit and Mounjaro for a bit and then I came off it and I just gained all the weight back because it got really expensive.

“I’m not wasting £300 a month on that s***.”

She weighed only nine stone when she took Ozempic in 2024 and ended up in A&E.

At the time she said: “I felt like I was dying – I’ve never had a seizure before.

“It wasn’t worth it.”

Speaking on her vlog, the former OnlyFans star added: “Weight is something I’ve always struggled with. I wake up in the morning and it’s the first thing I think about.

“I look in the mirror and I’m like, ‘How do I look?’

“Weight’s always been a really big thing for me, especially with modelling, so feeling good in my weight and myself – I know I’m not an unhealthy size – it’s just something I personally want to improve on.”