Golden State Today

There were 115 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in California in the week ending July 17, making up 2.2 percent of total deaths by all causes in California, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 17, there were 5,227 deaths in the state. 20.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1 percent were from cancer and 4.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6 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	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Cerebrovascular diseases	341	6.5
Alzheimer's disease	282	5.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	202	3.9
Diabetes mellitus	170	3.3
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	137	2.6
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	115	2.2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	91	1.7
Influenza and pneumonia	70	1.3
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,104	21.1
Heart disease	1,054	20.2

Cause of Death	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	448	8.6