“It is unknown if patients with a history of EVALI are at higher risk for severe complications of influenza or other respiratory viral infections if they are infected simultaneously or after recovering from lung injury,” states the new guidance.

But it’s also because symptoms of EVALI are similar to those of flu and other respiratory illnesses — including cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, fever, fatigue, and hazy spots on an X-ray.

“It is currently very hard for us to tell the difference between pneumonia and vaping related lung injury,” said Dr. Alicia Briggs, chair of pediatrics at Norwalk Hospital and a pediatric hospitalist at Connecticut Children’s.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/lung-vaping-disease-now-called-evali#Flu-season-could-hide-lung-injuries