Buckeye Reporter

There were 13 deaths from influenza and pneumonia reported in Ohio in the week ending March 5, making up 1.4% of total deaths by all causes in Ohio, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 927 deaths in the state. 20.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 20% 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	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	192	20.7
Heart disease	188	20.3
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	104	11.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	81	8.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	63	6.8
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	4.7
Alzheimer's disease	32	3.5
Influenza and pneumonia	13	1.4
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	1.4
Diabetes mellitus	13	1.4