Sunshine Sentinel

There were 274 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida in the week ending July 17, making up 6.1 percent of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 17, there were 4,483 deaths in the state. 20 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4 percent were from cancer and 12.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9 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
Heart disease	895	20
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	870	19.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	300	6.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	299	6.7
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	274	6.1
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	218	4.9
Diabetes mellitus	140	3.1
Alzheimer's disease	133	3
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	60	1.3
Influenza and pneumonia	59	1.3

Cause of Death	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	354	7.9