It's generally understood that due to the major overlap in symptoms, the lung illness from the vaping disease could easily have been misdiagnosed cases of Covid. This due to the fact that Covid was unknown. Misdiagnoses are extremely common during outbreaks, which is well-known. I never claimed this as evidence, only as a possible indication which is consistent with the thesis.

Besides, vaping demonstrably leads to a higher risk of serious lung illness by Covid:

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/researchers-find-n...

Again, not evidence per se, but it is consistent with the thesis.