Keystone Today

There were 91 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania in the week ending Nov. 5, making up 3.2% of total deaths by all causes in Pennsylvania, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, there were 2,812 deaths in the state. 21.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 8.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 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	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	610	21.7
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	532	18.9
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	138	4.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	137	4.9
Cerebrovascular diseases	131	4.7
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	91	3.2
Alzheimer's disease	81	2.9
Diabetes mellitus	80	2.8
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	67	2.4
Influenza and pneumonia	42	1.5

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	253	9