First State Times

There were 33 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Delaware during the week ending July 17, a 13.2 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 17, there were 164 deaths in the state. 23.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1 percent were from cancer and less than 6.1 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2021-07-17	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10
Heart disease	39	37
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	33	38
Cerebrovascular diseases	14	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	0
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10