Collateral Damage From COVID-19 Leads to Early Death for Thousands of Alzheimer's Patients.

Alzheimer's disease sufferers are collateral damage in the pandemic, resulting in tens of thousands of early deaths among people who never got coronavirus, reports CBS 13 Sacramento . The Alzheimer's Association says there have been more than 30,200 more deaths than expected from Alzheimer's disease and dementia since the pandemic started. Researchers estimated this by comparing the average number of dementia-related deaths over the last five years to the number of dementia deaths this year. The biggest blow to people living with Alzheimer's is the ban on face-to-face visits. "We know that individuals with dementia really rely on structure and routine and repetition, and that's been taken from individuals and families right now," explained Susan DeMarois with the Alzheimer's Association.