Keystone Today

There were 111 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 20.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 2,526 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21% were from cancer and 7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Heart disease	542	553
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	530	492
Cerebrovascular diseases	133	111
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	111	92
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	110	100
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	66	61
Alzheimer's disease	65	54
Diabetes mellitus	59	51
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	50	59
Influenza and pneumonia	24	34

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	224	206