MIAMI (AP) - A month before a South Florida foster child live-streamed her suicide on Facebook Live, the dosage of an antidepressant given to her was doubled by a doctor.
The Associated Press says doctors prescribed Zoloft, the antidepressant, to 14-year-old Naika Venant. Zoloft has a critical warning that it increased the risk of suicide in children.
The drug had a "black box" warning that is U.S. Food and Drug Administration's strongest advisory.
A spokesman for Zoloft's parent company, Pfizer, says the black box warning includes a note to families and caregivers about monitoring patients for suicidal thoughts or unusual changes in behavior.
Florida Department of Children & Families Secretary Mike Carroll says that the agency doesn't prescribe medications for children in its custody, only doctors do.
