[Skip to the question](#p-shortage-main)

Tirzepatide Before weight treatment Chapter index

Check the product

# Out of stock nearby is not a national shortage.

A pharmacy can be unable to fill a prescription even when the national status has changed. Those are different questions.

Myth to test

If my pharmacy runs out, can it make a copy under the old shortage rules?

Short answer

The national shortage list maintained by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contained no tirzepatide entry on September 26, 2026.

## Understand what ended

December 19, 2024, was the resolution date confirmed by the FDA for the shortage of tirzepatide injections.

After that decision, the FDA briefly delayed action against makers for breaking rules tied to the national shortage listing.

That delay ended on February 18, 2025, for ordinary pharmacies making medicine to order for named patients.

For larger makers of medicine batches, called outsourcing facilities, the delay ended on March 19, 2025.

These larger facilities often supply clinics and hospitals and need not be licensed pharmacies.

A local stock gap is different from the FDA's national shortage listing.

## Ask why this particular change is allowed

As of September 2026, the law limits regular or large-scale copying of available medicines, with a separate rule for changes made for a named patient.

Under that rule, the prescriber decides whether, for this patient, the change makes an important difference compared with the ready-made medicine.

A lower price by itself does not count as that difference.

Ask what is changed in your medicine, why that change matters for you and which rule allows the pharmacy to make it.

Ask for that explanation to be written for you, rather than accepting a general claim about made-to-order medicine.

Ask for the current status to be checked, rather than relying on an old shortage advert.

## Brief source notes

[FDA's timeline and copy policy](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fda-clarifies-policies-compounders-national-glp-1-supply-begins-stabilize)

Those dates ended the FDA's temporary delay in taking action over shortage-related rule violations; a delay in action is not a grant of legal permission.

[FDA national shortage data](https://api.fda.gov/drug/shortages.json)

The September check returned no tirzepatide entry; status can change.

[Back Made to order or generic](/decision-points/compounded-medicine/)

[Next What weight studies found](/what-supports-this/)

## Chapter index

Begin here

[Start with the checks](/)

[What makes care real](/getting-started/)

[What tirzepatide is](/step-one/)

[Brand names and uses](/decision-points/brand-names/)

[Who the care is for](/decision-points/fit-for-care/)

Check the care

[Check the licence](/ask-next/licence-check/)

[Video, phone or a form](/ask-next/visit-format/)

[Prepare for the visit](/ask-next/first-visit/)

[Ask about tests](/ask-next/blood-tests/)

Work out the cost

[Build the full bill](/plan-costs/)

[Check the plan's rules](/coverage-check/)

[The Medicare routes](/coverage-check/medicare/)

Check the product

[Made to order or generic](/decision-points/compounded-medicine/)

[What the shortage changed](/decision-points/shortage-rules/)

[When an offer needs a pause](/pause-and-check/)

[Sort out the care words](/reading-list/plain-words/)

Know the limits

[What weight studies found](/what-supports-this/)

[What stopping can mean](/what-supports-this/stopping-treatment/)

[Stomach trouble and more](/risk-check/)

[Health details that matter](/risk-check/personal-history/)

Keep this guide beside your care questions. We explain care here; clinic services and medicine sales are outside our work.

Start with the checks Care words Chapter index Read as plain text