Keystone Today

There were 16 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending June 24, a 36% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 2,489 deaths in the state. 22.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.2% were from cancer and 1.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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 June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	567	518
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	527	547
Cerebrovascular diseases	114	108
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	104	109
Diabetes mellitus	75	68
Alzheimer's disease	49	70
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	48	53
Influenza and pneumonia	30	27
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	16	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	11	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	217	223