Evergreen Reporter

There were 45 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 4.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 992 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.7% were from cancer and 7.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.7% 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 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	225	214
Heart disease	217	186
Alzheimer's disease	61	53
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	61
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	56
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	45	47
Diabetes mellitus	28	32
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	27	28
Influenza and pneumonia	17	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	116	120