They are finding fatty cells in the lungs of victims that have passed away and a specific variety of Vitamin E. And the people getting sick are not using nicotine vapes. The vapes they used had THC in them.
From the article: https://abcnews.go.com/US/vaping-related-death-reported-fourth-investigation-cdc/story?id=65435098
“While there is not a specific device or chemical linked to all cases, the CDC reports that a majority of the patients are young (18-35), are male and admit to using a THC, nicotine, or both, 90 days before seeing symptoms. CDC officials said symptoms include shortness of breath, gastrointestinal issues, fever and fatigue. In all reported cases of vaping-related illnesses, abnormalities were observed in both lungs after examination and no infections were detected, the CDC said.”
With no observed infection, that leads one away from concluding it was a biological source and towards a contaminant.
And
“A few labs and states are testing to see if the illness is related to vitamin E acetate. On Thursday the New York State Department of Health said laboratory results showed “very high levels of vitamin E acetate in nearly all cannabis-containing samples.” A vape product containing vitamin E was linked to each patient who submitted a product for testing, state officials said.”
Another similar story on Fox: https://www.foxnews.com/health/vitamin-e-acetate-lung-illnesses-vaping
I wonder what they were thinking, adding Vitamin E to a vaping product. Maybe someone was mindlessly using a formula that seemed to work for a salve, as I’ve heard Vitamin E containing oils are good for healing skin abrasions.