Palmetto State News

There were 11 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending June 24, a 21.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 1,013 deaths in the state. 20.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5% were from cancer and 1.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.8% 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 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	209	214
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	187	195
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	59	38
Cerebrovascular diseases	50	61
Alzheimer's disease	49	55
Diabetes mellitus	23	28
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	20
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	11	14
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	120	133