Sunshine Sentinel

There were 434 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Florida in the week ending Feb. 5, making up 19.6 percent of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 5, there were 2,212 deaths in the state. 16.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17 percent were from cancer and 36.8 percent were from COVID-19.

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
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	434	19.6
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	381	17.2
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	377	17
Heart disease	370	16.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	141	6.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	95	4.3
Alzheimer's disease	81	3.7
Diabetes mellitus	70	3.2
Influenza and pneumonia	29	1.3
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	1.2