Sunshine Sentinel

There were 21 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending Feb. 12, a 44.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 12, there were 1,811 deaths in the state. 17.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.8 percent were from cancer and 38.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4 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	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	376	625
Heart disease	325	553
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	318	532
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	305	535
Cerebrovascular diseases	139	202
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	74	134
Diabetes mellitus	50	100
Alzheimer's disease	44	115
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	44
Influenza and pneumonia	21	38

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
Alzheimer disease and dementia	134	296