Evergreen Reporter

There were 17 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a 41.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 1,319 deaths in the state. 18% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and 4.7% 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 Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	268	252
Heart disease	237	255
Cerebrovascular diseases	72	69
Alzheimer's disease	69	60
Diabetes mellitus	54	38
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	50
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	34
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	25	18
Influenza and pneumonia	17	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	144	130