Evergreen Reporter

There were 43 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending July 2, 2022, a 16.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 2, 2022, there were 1,066 deaths in the state. 21.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1% were from cancer and 9.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.9% 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 July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Heart disease	226	237
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	214	242
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	58	59
Alzheimer's disease	57	57
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	59
Cerebrovascular diseases	47	51
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	43	37
Diabetes mellitus	38	33
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	15
Influenza and pneumonia	13	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	116	116