Keystone Today

There were 60 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending March 19, 2022, a 25% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 19, 2022, there were 2,003 deaths in the state. 22% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.3% were from cancer and 7.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	446	391
Heart disease	440	498
Cerebrovascular diseases	102	91
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	89	95
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	87	82
Alzheimer's disease	63	50
Diabetes mellitus	62	56
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	60	80
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	52	56
Influenza and pneumonia	26	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	185	176