Sunshine Sentinel

There were 218 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 4.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 4,549 deaths in the state. 19.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.7% were from cancer and 12.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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 July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	897	847
Heart disease	886	877
Cerebrovascular diseases	356	292
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	333	310
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	218	228
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	208	187
Diabetes mellitus	140	137
Alzheimer's disease	115	114
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	76	84
Influenza and pneumonia	45	47

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	386	361