Evergreen Reporter

There were 60 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending July 16, 2022, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 1,195 deaths in the state. 18.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.1% were from cancer and 8.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.5% 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 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Heart disease	222	222
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	204	277
Alzheimer's disease	68	63
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	61	59
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	60	60
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	80
Diabetes mellitus	41	47
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	39	38
Influenza and pneumonia	16	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	125	125