Wegovy Doses: A Complete Clinical Reference

How many Wegovy doses are there?

Six injection strengths appear in the Wegovy schedule: 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.7, 2.4 and 7.2 mg [1]. The first four are titration steps (1.7 mg is also a labeled alternative maintenance dose), 2.4 mg is the usual maintenance dose, and 7.2 mg is an adult-only option for people who need more weight loss after tolerating 2.4 mg [1].

There is also a tablet form, approved 22 December 2025 for adults only, with its own four-step ladder ending at 25 mg daily [2][1]. Wegovy injection was first approved on 4 June 2021 [3].

The two forms do not convert milligram for milligram. Oral bioavailability is about 1% to 2% for the tablets compared with 89% for the injection [1].

The weekly injection schedule

The Wegovy label builds the dose in four-week blocks: 0.25 mg for weeks 1 to 4, 0.5 mg for weeks 5 to 8, 1 mg for weeks 9 to 12, and 1.7 mg for weeks 13 to 16, with maintenance dosing starting at week 17 [1]. In STEP 1, the trial behind the 14.9% mean weight loss, participants escalated over 16 weeks to reach 2.4 mg [4].

Injections go under the skin of the abdomen, thigh or upper arm, once weekly on the same day, at any time of day, with or without meals [1]. The label says the time of day and the injection site can be changed without a dose change [1]. The Wegovy label warns that a FlexTouch pen should never be shared between patients, even if the needle is changed [1].

Maintenance dose by indication

The label gives a recommended maintenance dose and an alternative for each approved use [1]:

• Weight reduction in adults: 2.4 mg weekly recommended, or 1.7 mg.
• Weight reduction in patients aged 12 and older: 2.4 mg recommended, or 1.7 mg.
• Cardiovascular risk reduction: 2.4 mg recommended, or 1.7 mg.
• MASH with moderate to advanced fibrosis (F2 to F3): 2.4 mg, which may be reduced to 1.7 mg.

So 1.7 mg is a label-listed maintenance dose. In STEP 1, adults on semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly lost a mean 14.9% of body weight at 68 weeks [5]. In SURMOUNT-5, an open-label trial in 751 adults with obesity and no diabetes, semaglutide at 1.7 or 2.4 mg (the maximum tolerated dose) produced a mean 13.7% weight loss at 72 weeks, against 20.2% for tirzepatide [6].

The 7.2 mg maximum

The Wegovy injection label allows adults who have tolerated 2.4 mg for at least 4 weeks and still need more weight loss to increase to a maximum of 7.2 mg once weekly [1]. Children aged 12 and older do not go above 2.4 mg [1].

The STEP UP trial compared the two maintenance doses directly: 1,407 adults with obesity and no diabetes, 72 weeks, with 7.2 mg producing a mean weight change of -18.7% versus -15.6% on 2.4 mg and -3.9% on placebo [7]. The label's own table, using a different analysis, gives -18.8%, -15.5% and -3.9% [1].

The higher dose also produced more side effects. In the two 72-week trials behind the label, nausea was 39% on 7.2 mg, 35% on 2.4 mg and 13% on placebo; vomiting 22%, 16% and 6%; and dysesthesia — altered skin sensation such as burning or pain from touch — 22%, 6% and 0% [1]. The label notes that dysesthesia rises with dose and that 18% of the people affected on 7.2 mg had not recovered by the end of the trial [1]. Treatment was stopped for adverse reactions by 5% on 7.2 mg, 5% on 2.4 mg and 2% on placebo [1].

Wegovy tablets: 1.5 mg to 25 mg

The tablet schedule is counted in days, not weeks: 1.5 mg once daily for days 1 to 30, 4 mg for days 31 to 60, 9 mg for days 61 to 90, then 25 mg daily from day 91 as the maintenance dose [1]. The tablet label says to take them on an empty stomach in the morning with up to 4 ounces of plain water, swallow them whole without splitting, crushing, chewing or dissolving them, and wait at least 30 minutes before food, other drinks or other oral medicines [1].

Someone moving from Wegovy 2.4 mg injection to 25 mg tablets starts the tablets one week after the last injection [1].

What weight loss these doses produced

• STEP 1: 1,961 adults with obesity or overweight and no diabetes, 68 weeks. Mean weight change -14.9% on semaglutide 2.4 mg versus -2.4% on placebo; at least 5% loss in 86.4% versus 31.5%, and at least 15% loss in 50.5% versus 4.9% [5].
• STEP UP: -18.7% on 7.2 mg versus -15.6% on 2.4 mg at 72 weeks [7].
• Oral semaglutide 25 mg: 307 adults, 71 weeks. -13.6% versus -2.2% on placebo at week 64 [8].
• STEP 2, adults with type 2 diabetes: 1,210 adults, 68 weeks. -9.6% on 2.4 mg versus -3.4% on placebo [9]. The label notes less weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes than in those without [1].

Missed doses are handled differently on Wegovy and Ozempic

The Wegovy label says to take a missed injection if the next scheduled dose is more than 2 days away, and that after 2 or more consecutive missed doses the person re-starts at a lower dose and builds back up [1]. The Ozempic label uses a different rule — give the missed dose within 5 days, otherwise skip it [10].

For tablets, a missed dose is simply skipped; the next dose is taken the following day [1].

What the label says to watch for

In pooled trials of the 2.4 mg injection — 2,116 adults on Wegovy and 1,261 on placebo, up to 68 weeks — the most common reactions were nausea (44% versus 16%), diarrhea (30% versus 16%), vomiting (24% versus 6%) and constipation (24% versus 11%). Treatment was stopped for adverse reactions by 6.8% on Wegovy versus 3.2% on placebo, most often for nausea, vomiting or diarrhea [1].

Other label warnings include acute pancreatitis, which the label says should prompt discontinuation if suspected; acute gallbladder disease (cholelithiasis in 1.6% versus 0.7% in adult injection trials); acute kidney injury from volume depletion; hypoglycemia when combined with insulin or a sulfonylurea; and a mean heart rate rise of 1 to 4 beats per minute, with a rise of 20 beats per minute or more in 26% versus 16% [1]. The boxed warning covers thyroid C-cell tumors seen in rodents at clinically relevant exposures — whether semaglutide causes them in humans is unknown — and Wegovy is contraindicated with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2 [1].

Wegovy doses and compounded semaglutide

Compounded drugs are not FDA approved and are not reviewed for safety, effectiveness or quality before marketing; as of 31 May 2026 FDA had received 990 adverse event reports for compounded semaglutide and describes dosing errors with compounded injectable semaglutide, including patients measuring the wrong dose and doses above the label [11].