Palmetto State News

There were 26 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 36.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 1,025 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and 4.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9% 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 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Heart disease	199	199
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	193	194
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	47
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	64
Alzheimer's disease	38	35
Diabetes mellitus	37	26
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	26	19
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	17	13
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	13
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	92	83