Sunshine Sentinel

There were 64 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Florida during the week ending April 30, 2022, a 15.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 30, 2022, there were 3,006 deaths in the state. 22.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 3.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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 April 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022
Heart disease	669	782
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	645	760
Cerebrovascular diseases	230	293
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	142	175
Diabetes mellitus	95	85
Alzheimer's disease	87	85
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	64	76
Influenza and pneumonia	43	33
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	39	50
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	32	40

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	263	263