Sunshine Sentinel

There were 252 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida in the week ending May 22, 2021, making up 5.5% of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 22, 2021, there were 4,568 deaths in the state. 19.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21% were from cancer and 11.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8% 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)	958	21
Heart disease	904	19.8
Cerebrovascular diseases	308	6.7
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	283	6.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	252	5.5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	214	4.7
Alzheimer's disease	131	2.9
Diabetes mellitus	118	2.6
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	56	1.2
Influenza and pneumonia	46	1

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	357	7.8