Old Dominion News

There were 31 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending July 9, 2022, a 29.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 9, 2022, there were 1,061 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1% were from cancer and 6.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11% 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 July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Heart disease	249	257
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	224	274
Cerebrovascular diseases	72	64
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	36
Diabetes mellitus	40	45
Alzheimer's disease	36	40
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	31	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	30
Influenza and pneumonia	16	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	117	134