The Sconi

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending June 26, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 26, there were 939 deaths in the state. 21.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9 percent were from cancer and less than 1.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.8 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 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Heart disease	200	235
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	187	221
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	51
Alzheimer's disease	44	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38	39
Diabetes mellitus	23	31
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	16
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	101	106