Yellowhammer Times

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Alabama during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 13% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 866 deaths in the state. 29.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6% were from cancer and 4.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7% 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 June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Heart disease	255	235
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	170	197
Alzheimer's disease	51	55
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	46
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	46
Diabetes mellitus	25	25
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	19
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	18
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	93	86