First State Times

There were less than 10 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Delaware during the week ending August 7, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 7, there were 175 deaths in the state. 16.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.9 percent were from cancer and less than 5.7 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 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	40	53
Heart disease	29	28
Cerebrovascular diseases	17	18
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	0
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	0
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10