Old Dominion News

There were 37 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Virginia during the week ending June 4, 2022, a 15.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 4, 2022, there were 1,237 deaths in the state. 20% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.7% were from cancer and 4.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.9% 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 June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	293	276
Heart disease	247	269
Cerebrovascular diseases	68	59
Diabetes mellitus	53	35
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	49
Alzheimer's disease	40	42
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	44
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	26
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	21	32
Influenza and pneumonia	13	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	147	150