Evergreen Reporter

There were 39 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 14.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 1,146 deaths in the state. 16.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.4% were from cancer and 5.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.1% 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 Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	245	252
Heart disease	188	241
Alzheimer's disease	62	66
Cerebrovascular diseases	62	60
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	45
Diabetes mellitus	40	49
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	39	34
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	21
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	127	133