Golden State Today

There were 42 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in California in the week ending July 15, making up 0.8% of total deaths by all causes in California, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 15, there were 5,262 deaths in the state. 20.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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
Cerebrovascular diseases	288	5.5
Alzheimer's disease	275	5.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	235	4.5
Diabetes mellitus	177	3.4
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	96	1.8
Influenza and pneumonia	77	1.5
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	61	1.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	42	0.8
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,130	21.5
Heart disease	1,075	20.4

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	479	9.1