Evergreen Reporter

There were 16 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 27.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 725 deaths in the state. 21% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6% were from cancer and 2.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13.9% 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 April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Heart disease	152	186
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	142	174
Alzheimer's disease	54	58
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	36
Diabetes mellitus	28	24
Cerebrovascular diseases	27	40
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	16	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	101	96