Minnesota State Wire

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending June 26, a 23.1 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 26, there were 844 deaths in the state. 15.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 25.2 percent were from cancer and 4.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.9 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 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	213	203
Heart disease	131	126
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	31
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	30
Alzheimer's disease	33	31
Diabetes mellitus	31	27
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	26
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	15
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	92	84