Wegovy dosing schedule: the dose chart from the FDA label

The Wegovy injection follows a fixed 4-week ladder in the FDA prescribing information. This page quotes the label revised 6/2026, the version current on DailyMed when we checked on Oct 19, 2026 (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026). It is a reference, not a plan: talk to your prescriber before starting, changing or restarting a dose.

The label states: “Initiate at 0.25 mg once weekly for 4 weeks. Then follow the dosage escalation schedule in Table 1, titrating every 4 weeks.” The week numbers above are the earliest each step can begin. Delays for tolerability push every later step back.

Week-by-week dates for a sample start

The table below lays the same ladder on a calendar, using Monday, Jan 5, 2026 as an example first dose. Pick your own start date in the semaglutide titration calculator.

The chart shows the dose steps and the modeled amount of semaglutide on board, built from our one-compartment model with a 7-day half-life (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026). It is a relative amount, not a blood level. Try other schedules in the semaglutide plotter.

• Weekly dose (published steps)
• Modeled amount (mg-eq)
• Stable window

With a 7-day half-life, half of a weekly dose is still present when the next one is due, and the weekly accumulation ratio is 2.0. The model reaches about 97% of steady state after 5 half-lives, roughly 5 weeks at a constant dose. The Wegovy label itself gives no time to steady state; it says semaglutide stays in the circulation for about 5 to 7 weeks after the last 2.4 mg or 7.2 mg dose (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026). The Ozempic label, for the same molecule, states steady state after 4 to 5 weeks of weekly dosing (Novo Nordisk, Jun 1, 2026).

Maintenance: 1.7 mg vs 2.4 mg by indication

Wegovy has four approved uses, and the maintenance dose differs slightly between them (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026).

The label recommends 2.4 mg for every indication; for MASH it says the dose can be reduced to 1.7 mg if 2.4 mg is not tolerated. In STEP 1, the trial behind the original weight indication, the 2.4 mg arm lost a mean 14.9% of body weight at 68 weeks vs 2.4% on placebo (treatment-policy estimand, which counts everyone randomized regardless of whether they stayed on drug) (New England Journal of Medicine, Mar 18, 2021).

Wegovy HD 7.2 mg: who the label allows

FDA approved the 7.2 mg dose, branded Wegovy HD, on March 19, 2026, 54 days after filing (FDA, Mar 19, 2026). The label limits it tightly (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026):

• Adults only, weight-reduction indication only.
• Tolerability first. For patients “who tolerate the 2.4 mg dosage for at least 4 weeks and additional weight reduction is clinically indicated,” the dose may be increased to a maximum of 7.2 mg once weekly.
• One pen per dose. It comes as a 7.2 mg/0.75 mL single-dose pen.

Side effects rise with the higher dose. In the label’s 72-week pool (Table 4), dysesthesia (abnormal skin sensations such as tingling or burning) was reported by 22% on 7.2 mg vs 6% on 2.4 mg and 0% on placebo, and vomiting by 22% vs 16% vs 6% (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026).

If a dose is not tolerated

Gastrointestinal effects are the most common reason the ladder slows. In the label’s pooled weight trials (up to 68 weeks), nausea occurred in 44% on 2.4 mg vs 16% on placebo, and 6.8% vs 3.2% stopped treatment permanently because of adverse reactions (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026).

The label’s rule for escalation is short: “If patients do not tolerate a dose during dosage escalation, consider delaying dosage escalation for 4 weeks.” In practice that means staying on the current step for an extra 4 weeks, which moves each later step back by 4 weeks. Your prescriber makes that call.

Missed doses: the 2-day rule

The current Wegovy label uses a 2-day window, not the 5-day window that applies to Ozempic (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026).

Example: your dose day is Monday and you remember on Thursday. The next dose is 4 days away, so the label says to take it now. If you remember on Saturday night, the next dose is less than 2 days away, so you skip it. The original 2021 label used the same 2-day rule (FDA, Jun 4, 2021).

After 2 or more consecutive missed doses, the label does not name a restart dose; it says to restart escalation at a lower dosage. Ask your prescriber which step to restart on.

The Wegovy pill schedule

Wegovy tablets are taken once daily and climb in 30-day steps (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026).

Switching from the injection: “One week after discontinuing WEGOVY 2.4 mg injection, initiate 25 mg of WEGOVY tablets orally once daily.” In label Study 7, the 25 mg tablet produced a −13.6% weight change at week 64 vs −2.4% on placebo (intention-to-treat) (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026).

Administration and storage basics

• When: once weekly, on the same day each week, at any time of day, with or without meals.
• Where: subcutaneously in the abdomen, thigh or upper arm, rotating sites with each dose. Exposure is similar across the three sites.
• Presentations: single-dose pens (cartons of 4), single-dose syringes for 0.25 to 2.4 mg, and the Wegovy FlexTouch pen, 9.6 mg/3 mL, which delivers four 2.4 mg doses.
• Storage: refrigerate single-dose pens at 2 °C to 8 °C (36 °F to 46 °F). If needed, before the cap comes off, a pen can be kept at 8 °C to 30 °C (46 °F to 86 °F) for up to 28 days. FlexTouch can be used for 56 days after first use. Do not freeze.

All of the above is from the label (Novo Nordisk, Jun 18, 2026). Track the 28-day and 56-day windows with the semaglutide storage calculator.

Related schedules

The Wegovy 2.4 mg protocol page shows this ladder with modeled levels at each step. The Ozempic dosing schedule covers the diabetes ladder, which tops out at 2 mg. For costs at each step, see the Wegovy savings card guide, and for the molecule overview, the semaglutide hub.