Sunshine Sentinel

There were 44 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida in the week ending July 15, making up one% of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 15, there were 4,292 deaths in the state. 21.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.4% were from cancer and 2.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.5% 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)	919	21.4
Heart disease	911	21.2
Cerebrovascular diseases	321	7.5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	211	4.9
Diabetes mellitus	122	2.8
Alzheimer's disease	102	2.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	67	1.6
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	58	1.4
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	44	1
Influenza and pneumonia	34	0.8

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	324	7.5