Peach Tree Times

There were 27 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending October 16, a 58.8 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 16, there were 1,880 deaths in the state. 20 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.5 percent were from cancer and 34.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8 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 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Heart disease	376	332
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	334	465
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	311	325
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	310	440
Cerebrovascular diseases	91	91
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	77	68
Alzheimer's disease	73	78
Diabetes mellitus	44	42
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	32
Influenza and pneumonia	27	17

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Alzheimer disease and dementia	146	152