Sunshine Sentinel

There were 48 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending May 7, 2022, a 29.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 7, 2022, there were 2,992 deaths in the state. 21.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2% were from cancer and 3.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 7, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 30, 2022
Heart disease	635	792
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	605	787
Cerebrovascular diseases	204	278
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	175	171
Diabetes mellitus	93	114
Alzheimer's disease	85	105
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	67	79
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	48	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	39	50
Influenza and pneumonia	32	51

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 7, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	263	307