Sunshine Sentinel

There were 46 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida in the week ending June 24, making up 1.1% of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 4,236 deaths in the state. 20.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.4% were from cancer and 2.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	863	20.4
Heart disease	862	20.3
Cerebrovascular diseases	314	7.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	191	4.5
Diabetes mellitus	133	3.1
Alzheimer's disease	124	2.9
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	69	1.6
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	52	1.2
Influenza and pneumonia	50	1.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	46	1.1

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	373	8.8