Garden State Times

There were 47 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending June 5, a 45.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 5, there were 1,376 deaths in the state. 24.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.6 percent were from cancer and 6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6 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 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Heart disease	332	282
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	311	263
Cerebrovascular diseases	68	64
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	47	86
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	46
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	69
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	34	28
Alzheimer's disease	33	42
Diabetes mellitus	29	23
Influenza and pneumonia	13	16

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Alzheimer disease and dementia	105	119