Yellowhammer Times

There were 15 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending June 17, a 31.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 1,029 deaths in the state. 25.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and less than 1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4% 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 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Heart disease	259	243
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	194	182
Cerebrovascular diseases	55	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	40	40
Alzheimer's disease	39	42
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	12
Diabetes mellitus	26	20
Influenza and pneumonia	15	22
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	86	88