Peach Tree Times

There were 48 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending June 5, a 27.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 5, there were 1,568 deaths in the state. 22 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.9 percent were from cancer and 6.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8 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 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Heart disease	345	365
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	328	346
Cerebrovascular diseases	84	104
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	76	84
Alzheimer's disease	71	72
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	58	75
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	48	66
Diabetes mellitus	39	40
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	37
Influenza and pneumonia	11	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Alzheimer disease and dementia	138	145