Mountain State Times

There were 33 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 32% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 430 deaths in the state. 16.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 13% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4% 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 Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	89	96
Heart disease	72	74
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	33	25
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	26	26
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	16
Cerebrovascular diseases	22	26
Diabetes mellitus	16	11
Alzheimer's disease	14	16
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	32	44