Peach Tree Times

There were 26 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 18.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 1,373 deaths in the state. 24% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.7% were from cancer and 4.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Heart disease	330	348
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	312	318
Cerebrovascular diseases	83	69
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	70	84
Alzheimer's disease	61	57
Diabetes mellitus	41	37
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	39	27
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	40
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	22
Influenza and pneumonia	13	23

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	130	127