Last Frontier News

There were less than 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Alaska during the week ending September 11, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 96 deaths in the state. 14.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.5 percent were from cancer and 51 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	26	32
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	30
Heart disease	14	16
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	12	22
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
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10