Sunshine Sentinel

There were 215 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Florida in the week ending July 10, making up 4.8 percent of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 10, there were 4,451 deaths in the state. 19.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3 percent were from cancer and 9.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3 percent of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	902	20.3
Heart disease	884	19.9
Cerebrovascular diseases	314	7.1
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	215	4.8
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	210	4.7
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	194	4.4
Diabetes mellitus	128	2.9
Alzheimer's disease	128	2.9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	66	1.5
Influenza and pneumonia	54	1.2

Cause of Death	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	368	8.3