this is nightline tonight. >> the skinny shot, the many lives changed night, the skinny shot since ozempic became household drugs. >> i'm down 1 2 pounds. >> total weight loss is 17 pounds in 16 weeks.

>> juju: celebrities coming out declaring they're on the shot and shedding the pounds. doctors too say the drugs are life changers. >> these are wonderful medications. >> juju: but not all insurance companies will cover the cost. >> they are very expensive to pay out of pocket. >> juju: what's being done to try to change that. plus, kelsey watts, the viral sensation bringing mariah and whitney's classics alive hitting every note from her kitchen. >> you can just sing and people will listen. ♪ you're my lady ♪ >> juju: her cover of celine dion's "power of lo" with more than a million views. releasing her own christmas album. saying she wants to bring joy to the holiday season. >> i love this time of year. it's my absolute favorite. >> announcer: "nightline" will it's my absolute favorite. >> announcer: "nightline" will be right back. how do i do it all? with a little help. and to support my family's immune health, i choose airborne. it has an unbeatable amount of vitamin c,

plus a unique blend of immune focused ingredients to turn up our immune support. airborne . >> sweet. candy crush

thanks for joining us. >> for millions of americans with obesity or even looking to shed a few pounds, 2023 was a game changer. the year of injectable medications like ozempic and wegovy, offering hope to many who've struggled to lose weight. but who has access to these revolutionary drugs and who should pay for them. >> the weight loss trend taking over social media. >> it's hard to believe it's only been a year since ozempic

became a household name. oh oh, everyone's talking about a new class of game changing drugs used for weight loss. they're everywhere. useful for many, but not without drawbacks due to the cost and side effects and shortages. >> the scramble for diabetes patients to get the medicine they need to control their condition. it's in short supply right now because it's being used as a trendy weight loss tool. >> i am down a total of 122 pounds. total weight loss is 17 pounds and 16 weeks. >> hollywood abuzz about which celebrities were publicly on it. most recently, oprah winfrey telling people magazine she's changed her position on drugs used for weight loss and wants to destroy them, saying the fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier in my lifetime feels like relief. i'm absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself. in the days following oprah statement, online health care platform zocdoc reported a 30%

spike in appointments with doctors who prescribe semaglutide, the active ingredient in ozempic and wegovy. >> i'm happy when the celebrities open up about and being honest about being on the medication because there is a stigma about using them, which is unfortunate because these are wonderful medications and then they are changing the lives of patients like never before. patients who have been struggling with weight, who have been doing everything that they can with diet and exercise. >> and earlier this year, charles barkley, aka the formerly round mound of rebound, and says he lost almost 60 pounds on monday, talking about it on the pat mcafee show. >> it's been great. i'm starting to feel like a human being, not a fat anymore. like hell yeah, i'm taking my shot once a week. >> podcast star claudia oshry of the toast welcome back to the toast. opened up to thousands of listeners about her weight loss journey. >> everybody wants to know if i'm taking ozempic, manjaro, semaglutide. and the answer is obviously yes. of course. the reason i get like, nervous about

sharing it is because i'm honestly like i'm mad at myself and i'm like, ashamed of myself that i got to a place where i had 70 pounds to lose and dolores catania of real housewives of new jersey fame, telling page six she's not just using the drug for vanity. >> i'm going through menopause. i have a, um, thyroid, a thyroid issue. i have inflammation and weight. it's hard to take off and i work out and i don't eat crazy. and i was gaining weight, so semaglutide brand name ozempic and margo vi, they act on gut hormones that we naturally have in our body to help with sugar control. >> they can help us feel full. they can help reduce cravings, and therefore they can lead to weight loss. >> but despite the drug's popularity, recent headlines have raised questions. america's poison centers saying they've seen a massive 1,500% spike in calls related to one of the

ingredients used in the drug's nationwide poison control centers across the country are reporting an increase in calls specific about this ingredient, semaglutide. >> that's the active ingredient in ozempic. and one of those calls is coming from the suddenly giant pool of patients. >> the number of people in the u.s. who are prescribed some form of semaglutide has risen more than 930% since 2019, and so they're often giving themselves more than what's prescribed by their prescribing physician or provider. >> and as a result, they're having a lot more of the adverse side effects that are common with these medications, including nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea. and today, the fda warning consumers not to use the counterfeit semaglutide after seizing thousands of units. >> despite some side effects, plenty of patients say that weight loss injectables have changed their lives. >> so these are my jeans from when i first started. i goodness that's crazy. such a difference.

caitlin wade, i'm following you a 31 year old utah mom says she hasn't felt this good in decades. i'm super proud of just all my progress. so you guys tell me what you think. you can go ahead and, um, write in the comments. your opinion of it. but she used to weigh more than 400 pounds and she was pre-diabetic, and her doctor told her she needed to make a change. >> i was honestly probably one of the deepest, darkest parts of my life. >> just not feeling like you could be yourself and live the way you want to. and that's not a life for anybody. >> her life, she says, had become unmanageable. >> i'd have moments where i'd sit and cry because it's hard. it's like it feels like a drug, like you. you just find yourself doing it and it's hard to stop. i was on tiktok and i found a creator that had said she was using this medication and it was helping her binge eating, and

she was 30 days binge free. and i was like, wow, like, could that be for me? >> she says she was originally prescribed a weight loss injectable called manjaro, but months later switched to another drug, trulicity, that was covered by her insurance. katie has documented her journey with nightline on. >> i'm so proud of myself, sharing how her life has been transformed, and i thought i'd give you guys a 360 view since it's been a while, and i started it september first of 22. so i've been on it. i think it's been almost seven months now. i'm on my 36th week of the shot and it's just been amazing. my doctor was like, you are a whole different person at this point. >> caitlin has lost nearly 120 pounds for the last 15 months. >> i've been using a combination of manjaro and the active ingredient tripeptide to say that this medication has changed my life is an understatement, she says. >> it works better for her, but it comes at a steep price 4 to

$500 each month, the fda has previously warned that compounded drugs are not reviewed by the agency for safety or effectiveness. doctor veronica johnson has seen patients like caitlin in her office. >> insurance sometimes does not recognize obesity and overweight as a chronic disease, so it's less likely for them to get coverage for these medications. it's really tough because we see patients who do really well on these very effective drugs, and then they unfortunately, we can't continue coverage varies by insurance company and by drug like ozempic, which is only fda approved for diabetes, not weight loss. >> while another drug with the same ingredient, wegovy, is fda approved for weight loss but remains in short supply. the lack of coverage is frustrating for patients and for many doctors. >> i think insurance always lags behind science, and the more and more data that we have available that these medications not only

promote weight loss, but they also improve other metal diseases or cardiovascular diseases. >> but some states and lawmakers are taking the issue into their own hands. earlier this year, bloomberg law reported that nine states have added wegovy to their medicaid preferred drug lists, making it easier for low income patients to get coverage while in washington, the house introduced a bill last summer that would allow medicare to cover weight loss drugs for the first time. >> this disease disproportion affects people of color, so for black women, there's about two thirds of a prevalence of overweight and obesity. unfortunately, people of color are more likely to be insured under their medicaid and medicare. >> for those who can't get coverage out of pocket, costs can be more than $1,000 each month. yet for many americans, the issue isn't just financial or cosmetic. >> there's a lot more data that not only are these medications promoting weight loss, but if

patients who have diabetes improves their blood sugar, so these medications are not just for vanity purposes. >> at one point in caitlin's weight loss journey, she was finally able to do one thing her size had prevented. >> so just recently, we went to the park and i was like, you know what? i think i can fit on both of those and i was like, do you want to go on the slide with mommy? and he's like, yeah, i do. blue and so we went down the slide and my mom recorded it and it just like i got in the car and leaving, i didn't cry, but it just like my heart swelled because i was just so proud of myself. >> good job buddy. >> and today she's even one step further. i'm such a happier person that i can do more. >> my body feels so much better. that is something 15 months ago that i never thought i could do and that i would never gain back. i'm so grateful. for. >> when we come back, kelsey watts's take on celine dion's

the power of love and so many more love, the power of love with. >> your car's steering wheel could be a literal ticking time bomb. the national highway traffic safety administration is calling for a recall of 67 million airbag inflators. at least two people have died so far. others have suffered skull fractures, lacerate cushions and other injuries. if you or someone you know suffered any injuries involving a deployed airbag, even if your accident was your fault, you could be entitled to compensation, morgan and morgan has already recovered millions. act now and do not delay. call 800 602 8100 or visit for the people .com to learn more. >> i told myself i was okay arthritis symptoms. wc but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel,

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>> welcome back. you know, tiktok star kelsey watts has one of ne of those voices that radiates strength and joy famous for covering some of the most iconic divas in her kitchen. she has her own album and a

message about weathering difficult times and coming out on the other side. ears ashan singh. ♪ i'm your lady ♪ ♪ you are my man ♪ >> reporter: from celine dion, to whitney houston. ♪ i'll always love you ♪ >> reporter: and mariah carey. ♪ we belong together ♪ >> reporter: kelsey watts has covered some of the most iconic pop artists. these are tough tracks. these are not -- you're not singing "happy birth but some of the toughest. >> i like to show it's real which is why i do it the way i do it. you don't have to have all the bells and whistles. >> reporter: no bell, no whistles, just kelsey's kitchen and her over 1 million followers across social media. >> i'm still just me but i try

to stay as real as i can be. i feel like that's what people connect with. ♪ hold me ♪ >> reporter: out with her own holiday album you can say this singer is having a moment. ♪ >> this time of year is my absolute favorite. i think it's amazing. it just like brings me joy all the time. i just pick songs that i thought were encouraging. and just wanted to give somebody something happy to listen to. >> reporter: the texas native first burst onto the stage as a contestant on "the voice" in 2020 where she caught the attention of one particular judge. kelly clarkson, who also happens to be the og vocals behind that song. ♪ i dare you to love ♪ >> my song. ♪ >> sing that song! >> reporter: she went on to join

team kelly before being eliminated before the finals. >> as a caption, song from my christmas ep. >> reporter: these day she belts it out on a smaller stage, mainly at home, but often to an even bigger audience. sometimes with her husband brandon by her side with covers of his own lik like don't want to miss a thing." ♪ >> reporter: tell me how i guys found this area of your home -- >> to be it? >> to be it? >> honestly the acoustics are bomb over here. as long as we got light from outside we're solid. >> and remember the lyrics. >> reporter: does it happen a lot? >> kelsey's just got a way of captivating when she sings. she knows how to grab you. >> we share the love of music and share the love of singing. are there many other people that know a lot more than me, yes.

but i'm me and there's not another me, so i was like, well, i'm just going to be me in my sweats with my hair on top of my head singing a song while making a chicken. >> that's good. >> reporter: that combo appears to be working. kelsey recently had a video hit 12 million views on tiktok. and, yes, it's the one where she hits those celine dion notes in "the power of love". ♪ we're heading for something ♪ >> reporter: her spot among the most popular cover artists on social media. she invited us to take a behind-the-scenes look at how they make those viral videos this their home in nashville. ♪ noel, noel ♪ ♪ noel ♪ ♪ noel ♪ ♪ born is the king.

>> there's a lot of joy in kelsey's life now, but it wasn't always that way. my brother pas 2013 and my life just kind of stopped. >> reporter: kelsey's younger brother, jordan, whose pictures are among the first things you see when you walk through her door died by suicide after struggling with depression. >> he was loved by everybody. >> reporter: what did you lose when you lost jordan. >> jordan was my best friend. we were only two years apart so we were really, really close. you kind of lose a bit of yourself, like it sounds dramatic but you lose a little bit of yourself. >> reporter: music at the heart of her healing journey and wrote a song in his memory saying "i can't say good-bye ♪ ♪ here i am still drowning in the tears you left behind ♪ >> i wanted to make sure it was

relate to people, to anybody who had lost somebody too soon. it's a really big part of my artistry to reach people who, like, think it's not normal to struggle or who think they have to have it all together all the time that have lived like real trauma like it sucks, but it's also such a story to tell people to be like, hey, it is possible to deal with something like this and to make it through it. >> reporter: as she looks forward, kelsey dreams bigger dreams. on the horizon, new songs dropping in the new year, hitting the road to share her music. ♪ o holy night ♪ ♪ the stars are brightly shining ♪ >> reporter: when you close your eyes at night, what do your dreams look like? >> i mean i have dreams of selling out madison square garden. there are these people i dream of working with. oh, no, that will happen one

day, i'm just manifesting it. if i focus on just being happy and finding the joy in what i'm doing now, then i will always be happy in the process of ♪ o . oh oh night day, she thanks to austin when we come thanks to austin when we come back christmas in the cosmos you nfrom vicks.aline just sinex, breathe, ahhhh! what is — wow! sinex. breathe. ahhhhhh!

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>> and finally, tonight, a very cosmic christmas nasa dubbed it the christmas tree cluster. it's a group of young stars between just 1 and 5 million years old in our galaxy, the milky way, though they're 2500 light-years away scientists were able to view the tree-shaped constellation from the hubble and james webb space telescopes. nasa released enhanced images of the cluster and added an animated version though you can't see it from your backyard you can screw the cluster on nasa's website. ho, ho, ho. that's "nightline." you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for