An institute naming a new variant after itself does suggest some researchers looking to make a name for themselves...
But those bio-weapon lab scientists in Wuhan were pretty humble, weren't they?
Regards,
Indeed! One of the preprint authors is none other than the infamous Didier Raoult, the director of the IHU Institute, who was vilified after he advocated the use of HCQ because of its effectiveness in treating the original SAR-CoV! I’m sure he is getting some satisfaction in that the media has to positively report on their discovery after so vilifying them at the start of the pandemic.
While the world may regard Raoult as a quack and the French government tried to revoke his license to practice medicine, in Marseilles they love him because he worked so hard to save their city from the original virus. He set up a huge tent outside the Institute and personally early treated thousands who came down with Alpha and achieved a lower death rate by doing so.