Sunshine Sentinel

There were 283 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Florida during the week ending May 22, 2021, a 11.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 22, 2021, there were 4,562 deaths in the state. 19.7% 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	Deaths in Week Ending May 22, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	956	928
Heart disease	900	873
Cerebrovascular diseases	308	283
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	283	319
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	252	285
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	214	186
Alzheimer's disease	131	107
Diabetes mellitus	118	133
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	56	53
Influenza and pneumonia	46	51

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 22, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	356	332