Old Dominion News

There were 46 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Virginia during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 24.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 1,175 deaths in the state. 22.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7% were from cancer and 7.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.6% 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 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Heart disease	268	248
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	255	293
Cerebrovascular diseases	60	68
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	56	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	46	37
Diabetes mellitus	42	55
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	40	21
Alzheimer's disease	32	40
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	22
Influenza and pneumonia	10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	136	147