Old Dominion News

There were 12 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending April 16, 2022, a 20% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 16, 2022, there were 896 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.9% were from cancer and 3.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.2% 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 April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	196	177
Heart disease	195	192
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	57
Diabetes mellitus	39	26
Alzheimer's disease	26	36
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	26
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	12	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	100	109