Yellowhammer Times

There were 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Feb. 5, a 41.2 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 5, there were 867 deaths in the state. 21.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.5 percent were from cancer and 47.1 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2022-02-05	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	212	314
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	196	275
Heart disease	185	280
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	108	171
Alzheimer's disease	48	57
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	51
Cerebrovascular diseases	36	67
Diabetes mellitus	20	30
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	24
Influenza and pneumonia	10	17