Old Dominion News

There were 45 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Virginia during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 2.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 1,519 deaths in the state. 21.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and 4.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	330	296
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	308	270
Cerebrovascular diseases	92	73
Diabetes mellitus	50	44
Alzheimer's disease	48	44
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	48	58
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	45	46
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	34
Influenza and pneumonia	20	26

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	149	161