Prairie State Wire

There were 26 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending July 2, a 13.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 2, there were 1,879 deaths in the state. 21.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 5.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.1% 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 July 2	Deaths in Week Ending June 25
Heart disease	408	450
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	386	459
Cerebrovascular diseases	115	121
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	89	104
Alzheimer's disease	84	54
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	60	75
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	47	41
Diabetes mellitus	46	56
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	45	56
Influenza and pneumonia	26	30

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 2	Deaths in Week Ending June 25
Alzheimer disease and dementia	208	165