Empire State Today

There were 54 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in New York state during the week ending March 19, 2022, a 40% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 19, 2022, there were 1,489 deaths in the state. 23.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 5.9% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Heart disease	353	385
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	287	311
Cerebrovascular diseases	59	72
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	54	90
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	67
Diabetes mellitus	44	48
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	29
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	71
Influenza and pneumonia	29	26
Alzheimer's disease	25	31

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	140	165