Empire State Today

There were 13 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in New York state in the week ending July 17, making up 0.7 percent of total deaths by all causes in New York state, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 17, there were 1,845 deaths in the state. 23.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1 percent were from cancer and 2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1 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
Heart disease	441	23.9
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	389	21.1
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	85	4.6
Cerebrovascular diseases	75	4.1
Alzheimer's disease	45	2.4
Diabetes mellitus	41	2.2
Influenza and pneumonia	38	2.1
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	33	1.8
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	1.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	13	0.7

Cause of Death	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	149	8.1