Keystone Today

There were 520 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania in the week ending Jan. 8, making up 27.3 percent of total deaths by all causes in Pennsylvania, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 8, there were 1,907 deaths in the state. 17.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.5 percent were from cancer and 56.6 percent were from COVID-19.

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	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	559	29.3
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	520	27.3
Heart disease	327	17.1
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	276	14.5
Cerebrovascular diseases	77	4
Alzheimer's disease	56	2.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	43	2.3
Diabetes mellitus	39	2
Influenza and pneumonia	34	1.8
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	1.5