Old Dominion News

There were 49 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia in the week ending Dec. 17, making up 3.4% of total deaths by all causes in Virginia, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 17, there were 1,454 deaths in the state. 21.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 7.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13.5% 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
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	312	21.5
Heart disease	309	21.3
Cerebrovascular diseases	69	4.7
Alzheimer's disease	64	4.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	64	4.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	61	4.2
Diabetes mellitus	56	3.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	49	3.4
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	2.5
Influenza and pneumonia	31	2.1

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	197	13.5