Evergreen Reporter

There were 51 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending June 25, 2022, a 13.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, 2022, there were 968 deaths in the state. 21.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.1% were from cancer and 8.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.3% 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 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	224	236
Heart disease	205	229
Alzheimer's disease	52	62
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	51	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	50
Cerebrovascular diseases	45	62
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	27
Diabetes mellitus	33	29
Influenza and pneumonia	12	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	118