CDC Admits to Fewer Instances of Vaping Illness

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admitted that the number of vaping sickness cases are “leveling off or declining,” in the wake of the massive scare over the past few months. 

According to CNBC, the CDC announced this good news on Oct. 25 and is feeling hopeful about the situation. “It’s serious and potentially fatal, but it is preventable,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal deputy director, told reporters on a conference call, according to CNBC. 

This could be a result of all the news and information spread about vaping sickness since the first cases were reported, as well as the states who have currently enacted bans. So far, the CDC has confirmed 1,604 cases of possible vaping sickness. In the past week, 125 new cases have been diagnosed, and fatalities have risen from 33 to 34. Still, that is down from previous cases. 

So far, the CDC still is not sure what is causing the sickness, but most cases have been traced to vape pens containing THC, especially illegal or illicit vaping products. 

For now, the CDC is calling the illness EVALI, short for e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury. There is still no good answer as to why all the cases of vaping sickness so far have been reported between last April and now, although people have been vaping for years without reporting any vaping sickness symptoms.

While this is an exciting milestone, there is still a lot to unpack and discover about vaping sickness and what it is. The CDC may have locked down a name for vaping sickness and noticed a decrease, many states are taking measures to ban vaping devices. There still needs to be a lot more research, and more preventative measures, before the issue will be behind us.