Keystone Today

There were 23 deaths from influenza and pneumonia reported in Pennsylvania in the week ending May 15, 2021, making up 0.9% of total deaths by all causes in Pennsylvania, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 15, 2021, there were 2,679 deaths in the state. 21.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9% were from cancer and 14.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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	570	21.3
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	532	19.9
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	207	7.7
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	181	6.8
Cerebrovascular diseases	125	4.7
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	97	3.6
Diabetes mellitus	73	2.7
Alzheimer's disease	68	2.5
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	48	1.8
Influenza and pneumonia	23	0.9

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	228	8.5