Sunshine Sentinel

There were 61 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida in the week ending July 29, making up 1.4% of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 29, there were 4,273 deaths in the state. 19.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.4% were from cancer and 3.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4% 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)	916	21.4
Heart disease	840	19.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	324	7.6
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	200	4.7
Diabetes mellitus	144	3.4
Alzheimer's disease	96	2.2
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	85	2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	72	1.7
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	61	1.4
Influenza and pneumonia	37	0.9

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	317	7.4