Keystone Today

There were 164 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania in the week ending May 22, 2021, making up 6.2% of total deaths by all causes in Pennsylvania, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 22, 2021, there were 2,666 deaths in the state. 21.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 13.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3% 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	567	21.3
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	509	19.1
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	196	7.4
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	164	6.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	105	3.9
Cerebrovascular diseases	100	3.8
Alzheimer's disease	78	2.9
Diabetes mellitus	73	2.7
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	47	1.8
Influenza and pneumonia	30	1.1

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	222	8.3