Evergreen Reporter

There were 28 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 12% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 962 deaths in the state. 19.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7% were from cancer and 7.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.4% 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 June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	209	251
Heart disease	184	199
Cerebrovascular diseases	60	48
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	55
Alzheimer's disease	53	57
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	47	38
Diabetes mellitus	31	33
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	28	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	11	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	119	125