Great Lakes Wire

There were 36 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan in the week ending July 16, making up 2.5% of total deaths by all causes in Michigan, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, there were 1,418 deaths in the state. 25.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.6% were from cancer and 6.1% 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
Heart disease	363	25.6
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	334	23.6
Cerebrovascular diseases	94	6.6
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	71	5
Alzheimer's disease	62	4.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	50	3.5
Diabetes mellitus	36	2.5
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	36	2.5
Influenza and pneumonia	17	1.2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	1.2