Keystone Today

There were 640 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending Dec. 25, a 12.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 25, there were 2,960 deaths in the state. 18.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.9 percent were from cancer and 44.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.3 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	690	785
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	640	730
Heart disease	558	640
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	442	499
Cerebrovascular diseases	108	150
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	102	110
Alzheimer's disease	76	73
Diabetes mellitus	65	81
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	56	69
Influenza and pneumonia	44	42

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	215	238