Empire State Today

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in New York state in the week ending July 22, making up less than 0.6% of total deaths by all causes in New York state, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 22, there were 1,783 deaths in the state. 23.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21% were from cancer and 1.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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
Heart disease	414	23.2
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	375	21
Cerebrovascular diseases	73	4.1
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	70	3.9
Diabetes mellitus	43	2.4
Alzheimer's disease	36	2
Influenza and pneumonia	33	1.9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	1.6
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	1.1
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 0.6

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	167	9.4