Gem State Wire

There were 47 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Idaho during the week ending Feb. 5, a 27.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 5, there were 212 deaths in the state. 17.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.6 percent were from cancer and 42 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 2022-02-05	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	47	65
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	42	59
Heart disease	37	54
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	33	51
Alzheimer's disease	12	16
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	25
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	13