Golden State Today

There were 369 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in California during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 3.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 5,627 deaths in the state. 19.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9% were from cancer and 11.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.6% 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. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	369	382
Cerebrovascular diseases	329	319
Alzheimer's disease	297	290
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	262	282
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	198	188
Diabetes mellitus	186	194
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	106	80
Influenza and pneumonia	66	89
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,120	1,171
Heart disease	1,112	1,080

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	540	522