Peach Tree Times

There were 36 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending June 19, a 30.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 19, there were 1,556 deaths in the state. 19.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.6 percent were from cancer and 4.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19	Number of Deaths 2021-06-12
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	320	330
Heart disease	307	329
Cerebrovascular diseases	96	78
Alzheimer's disease	85	74
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	74	87
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	42	35
Diabetes mellitus	42	54
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	61
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	36	52
Influenza and pneumonia	20	22

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19	Number of Deaths 2021-06-12
Alzheimer disease and dementia	158	137