Yellowhammer Times

There were 109 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Alabama during the week ending March 5, a 42.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 806 deaths in the state. 24.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.6% were from cancer and 25.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	195	223
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	118	145
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	109	191
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	94	173
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	44
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	65
Alzheimer's disease	38	43
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	19
Diabetes mellitus	21	22
Influenza and pneumonia	11	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	72	73