Maryland State Wire

There were 15 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Maryland during the week ending July 3, a 34.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 3, there were 978 deaths in the state. 21.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 24.4 percent were from cancer and 2.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.5 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 2021-07-03	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	239	182
Heart disease	212	185
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	43	34
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	58
Diabetes mellitus	20	44
Alzheimer's disease	20	20
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	15	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	17
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	16
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	64	80