Sunshine Sentinel

There were 76 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida in the week ending December 25, making up 2.9 percent of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending December 25, there were 2,638 deaths in the state. 21.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5 percent were from cancer and 6.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1 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	565	21.4
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	541	20.5
Cerebrovascular diseases	214	8.1
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	129	4.9
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	91	3.4
Alzheimer's disease	77	2.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	76	2.9
Diabetes mellitus	67	2.5
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	40	1.5
Influenza and pneumonia	21	0.8

Cause of Death	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	213	8.1