Grand Canyon Times

There were 202 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending Feb. 19, a 34.2 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 19, there were 1,171 deaths in the state. 15.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.7 percent were from cancer and 36.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7 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 2022-02-19	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	227	351
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	202	307
Heart disease	178	255
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	172	208
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	66	70
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	68
Diabetes mellitus	38	48
Alzheimer's disease	36	63
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	19

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12
Alzheimer disease and dementia	102	126