Sunshine Sentinel

There were 65 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Florida in the week ending July 8, making up 1.5% of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 8, there were 4,434 deaths in the state. 21.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.4% were from cancer and 2.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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
Heart disease	964	21.7
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	949	21.4
Cerebrovascular diseases	290	6.5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	209	4.7
Diabetes mellitus	148	3.3
Alzheimer's disease	116	2.6
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	67	1.5
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	65	1.5
Influenza and pneumonia	53	1.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	44	1

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	358	8.1