Garden State Times

There were 145 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending May 8, 2021, a 19.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 8, 2021, there were 1,461 deaths in the state. 22.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5% were from cancer and 21.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.8% 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 May 8, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 1, 2021
Heart disease	331	347
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	271	297
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	165	196
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	145	181
Cerebrovascular diseases	77	76
Alzheimer's disease	42	49
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38	35
Diabetes mellitus	37	34
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	28
Influenza and pneumonia	23	25

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 1, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	100	129