Yellowhammer Times

There were 147 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Feb. 26, a 33.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 26, there were 902 deaths in the state. 21.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.1 percent were from cancer and 34.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.5 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 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Heart disease	194	273
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	164	254
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	147	221
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	127	167
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	58	45
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	65
Alzheimer's disease	38	55
Diabetes mellitus	21	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	26
Influenza and pneumonia	15	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	68	98