Empire State Today

There were 309 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in New York state in the week ending December 25, making up 15.9 percent of total deaths by all causes in New York state, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending December 25, there were 1,940 deaths in the state. 23.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.5 percent were from cancer and 32.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.5 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	462	23.8
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	328	16.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	309	15.9
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	301	15.5
Cerebrovascular diseases	78	4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	70	3.6
Diabetes mellitus	49	2.5
Influenza and pneumonia	41	2.1
Alzheimer's disease	39	2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	1.5

Cause of Death	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	145	7.5