Weight loss is top of mind in 2026, as it is every January.
What’s different this year, though, is the new weight loss pill and where in Florida you can get it.
U.S. regulators in December gave the green light to a pill version of Wegovy, making it the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. Costco will sell the pill to members at a discounted price, just as it does injectable weight-loss drugs like Ozempic (semaglutide for diabetes) and Wegovy (semaglutide for weight loss). Pharmacies like CVS and Publix will sell it too.
Weight-loss medications can be expensive, especially for people without insurance. The new pill will cost $25 or less in copay per month if covered by insurance and between $149 and $299 per month for self-pay, according to the manufacturer, Novo Nordisk.
Rob Stransky, president at NiceRx, which makes compounded versions of brand-name drugs, urges price shoppers to exercise caution. There is a worrying rise in fake versions of popular weight-loss medications on the market, he said.
“It’s really important for people to understand not only that you need a prescription for this type of medication, but knowing the websites you’re shopping and making sure that they’re reputable before you try to make an order is so important, especially when it comes to something like a medication that you’re putting into your body,” he said.
Clinical trials show that the new oral form requires a higher dose but can help people lose a similar amount of weight as the injectable version.
“With any medication, it should be taken under the purview of a licensed professional experienced in prescribing medications and following up on side effects,” said Dr. Michael Shockley of Wellington. “You want patients on the lowest dose that gets the result you are looking for.”
If you’re considering starting a weight loss drug this year, you should know that once you are on these medications, known as semiglutide, it’s not easy to come off. Stopping semaglutide (Ozempic or Wegovy) too quickly can lead to rebound weight gain. Studies show that without the medication’s support and sustained lifestyle changes, most of the lost weight comes back within a year of stopping the drug.
Shockley says that bariatric surgery is an option as well, and for people focused on long-term weight loss, surgery has outperformed medications. “You need to look at what the end point is and what you are targeting,” he said. “There is no good data yet on what it looks like when you are on these medications the rest of your life.”
Surgery can be pricier, ranging from $6,000 to $10,000, depending on insurance coverage.
“Everything has a role,” said Shockley with Advanced Surgical Physicians. “It’s nice to have options.”
Is the super flu a real thing, and has it invaded Florida?
With travelers streaming into cruise ports and visiting beaches, Florida is a particular hot spot for this year’s “super flu.” According to the CDC’s FluView Interactive Map, which monitors hospital visits for respiratory illness with fever plus a cough or sore throat, the rate of flu spread in Florida as of Dec. 27 is “very high.”
While there is no official “super flu,” experts are using the term to refer to the subclade K strain. The issue is that the population has little immunity to subclade K, and this year’s flu vaccine doesn’t include that strain. So it’s rapidly spreading, and nationwide, nearly 90% of the flu samples tested belonged to subclade K.
Health officials say that while the current vaccine may not be a perfect match, it still protects against serious illness from subclade K.
Dr. Jorge Cervantes, an infectious diseases specialist at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, notes that it remains uncertain whether subclade K causes more severe illness than other strains. However, so far, the antivirals are effective against it. Doctors say the effectiveness of the four types of antivirals can vary from person to person based on their immune system, age, and overall health status.
Here’s how you know you have flu rather than a cold: Symptoms arise below the neck and include cough, muscle aches and chills. You will want to rest as much as possible and load up on fluids, giving your body what it needs to support your immune system in fighting the infection.
But if you’d like some pharmaceutical help, get a prescription fast: The four antiviral drugs are most effective when started within the first 48 hours of symptom onset. “The sooner you start them, the better to shorten the process and make it less severe,” Cervantes said. “This strain can be aggressive in just a short amount of time.”
Warning: The side effects of antivirals could include some vomiting and diarrhea.
Most often, the flu lasts seven to 10 days, Cervantes said. It’s time to get medical help if it spreads deep into your lungs and you have shortness of breath.
To avert the flu, he recommends washing your hands often and staying hydrated to keep your nasal passages and throat moist. Doing so helps them act as a barrier, trapping germs before they can reach deeper parts of your body.
Broward Therapists has hired multilingual counselors.
Broward Therapists of Plantation and Palm Beach has brought on eight mental health counselors who speak mulitple languages.
Those languages include Spanish, Portuguese, Creole and Russian.
“We know clients express their emotions more comfortably in their own language,” said Justin Johansen, owner of Broward Therapists. “This is why having counselors who can communicate fluently in these languages helps create deeper trust, safety and understanding while also leading to stronger outcomes.”
The practice has a total of 21 counselors for children and adults and offers family counseling, individual counseling, couples counseling, trauma counseling, play therapy, and group workshops.
Free wellness series at Fort Lauderdale’s Huizenga Park
A year of free wellness events will kick off at 10 a.m. on Jan. 24 at Huizenga Park in Fort Lauderdale. The Downtown Development Authority and the Huizenga Park Foundation are launching the series with the Cleveland Clinic as the presenting sponsor. As presenting sponsor, Cleveland Clinic will help power more than 100 free, high-quality wellness programs throughout the year.
The series features a lineup of recurring programs at the park that include:
- Weekly Yoga Series hosted by Las Olas Yoga Studio, offering free all-levels outdoor yoga.
- Weekly Flow, Grow & Connect hosted by Coastal Yoga and Nutrition, featuring yoga, sound healing, and dog-friendly Pooches & Poses classes.
- Monthly Wellness Recovery Pop-Ups hosted by Pause Studio, introducing cold plunges, breathwork, and other recovery-focused experiences.
- Zumba by Domingo brings high-energy dance sessions for all ages.
For more information, project updates, and the full schedule for Huizenga Park’s Health and Wellness Series presented by Cleveland Clinic, visit huizengapark.org.
UF researchers discover way to boost lung cancer treatment response
UF Health Cancer Institute researchers have found a likely way to boost a patient’s response to lung cancer treatment.
The researchers believe that a small compound produced naturally by gut bacteria can double the response to lung cancer immunotherapy.
The compound, turned into a drug, could be used in combination with commonly used immunotherapy treatments like immune checkpoint inhibitors, which release the brakes on a patient’s own immune system to target their cancer.
“Across all cancers, only about 20% of patients who receive immune checkpoint inhibitors respond to them — 80% do not — so anything that could boost responsiveness is a blockbuster drug,” said Rachel Newsome, a postdoctoral associate and the study’s first author. “We envision this small molecule drug could be given at the same time or before immune checkpoint therapy and boost patient responsiveness by 50% without adding any invasive treatment.”
Newsome said the goal is to naturally boost immunotherapy activity, so more people experience a positive effect from treatment.
“We want to empty those cancer center parking lots that are so full right now,” she said.
The study builds on years of work in the lab of researcher Dr. Christian Jobin. Although it focused on lung cancer, one of the least responsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors, the UF researchers believe the molecule could work in other cancers as well.
Jobin’s lab is also researching how diet, and specifically carbohydrate intake, might affect the molecule’s function. That could lead to precise diet interventions to boost cancer treatment responses.
South Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.