Yellowhammer Times

There were 51 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 15.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 1,002 deaths in the state. 22.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.1% were from cancer and 11.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Heart disease	221	250
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	181	186
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	61	61
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	58
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	53
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	51	44
Alzheimer's disease	48	46
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	19
Diabetes mellitus	19	25
Influenza and pneumonia	17	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	88	90