Peach Tree Times

There were 117 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending Feb. 5, a 46.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 5, there were 920 deaths in the state. 15.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.7 percent were from cancer and 51.7 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2022-02-05	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	246	408
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	230	377
Heart disease	145	307
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	117	220
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	63
Alzheimer's disease	45	57
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	76
Diabetes mellitus	23	38
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	26
Influenza and pneumonia	18	21