Minnesota State Wire

There were 56 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Feb. 19, a 56.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 19, there were 582 deaths in the state. 13.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.7 percent were from cancer and 23.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13.9 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 2022-02-19	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	109	185
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	80	155
Heart disease	78	166
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	56	129
Alzheimer's disease	37	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	39
Cerebrovascular diseases	31	47
Diabetes mellitus	13	24
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12
Alzheimer disease and dementia	81	104