Yellowhammer Times

There were 13 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending August 28, a 31.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 28, there were 1,530 deaths in the state. 19 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.4 percent were from cancer and 58.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.3 percent 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 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	457	408
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	441	392
Heart disease	290	305
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	189	194
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	75
Cerebrovascular diseases	65	57
Alzheimer's disease	55	48
Diabetes mellitus	43	30
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	26
Influenza and pneumonia	13	19

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Alzheimer disease and dementia	96	93