Peach Tree Times

There were 31 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending November 20, a 82.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 20, there were 1,646 deaths in the state. 22.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8 percent were from cancer and 12.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.8 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 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Heart disease	366	427
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	293	326
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	105	130
Alzheimer's disease	97	84
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	95	114
Cerebrovascular diseases	81	104
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	66	87
Diabetes mellitus	50	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	41	36
Influenza and pneumonia	31	17

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Alzheimer disease and dementia	177	184