Golden State Today

There were 185 deaths from influenza and pneumonia reported in California in the week ending Dec. 3, making up 2.9% of total deaths by all causes in California, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 3, there were 6,282 deaths in the state. 20.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.7% were from cancer and 7.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.1% 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	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer's disease	391	6.2
Cerebrovascular diseases	380	6
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	284	4.5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	253	4
Diabetes mellitus	242	3.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	194	3.1
Influenza and pneumonia	185	2.9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	87	1.4
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,236	19.7
Heart disease	1,312	20.9

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	695	11.1