Green Mountain Times

There were 13 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Vermont during the week ending October 30, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 30, there were 172 deaths in the state. 23.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.7 percent were from cancer and 15.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7 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	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30	Number of Deaths 2021-10-23
Heart disease	40	33
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	27	25
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	14	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	13	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	0
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	0	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30	Number of Deaths 2021-10-23
Alzheimer disease and dementia	12	11