But the scientists, too, have their egos and reputations to protect.
Last week, the distinguished medical researcher and head of the Wellcome Trust, Sir Jeremy Farrar, published his own account of the fight against Covid-19 (Spike: The Virus Vs. The People).
In it, he blames The Lancet, perhaps the world's best-known medical journal, for delaying publication of a crucial piece of research — the first to suggest that a novel and potentially lethal virus was spreading from human to human in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
A Dutch professor, Thijs Kuiken, had been sent the paper on January 16, 2020, by The Lancet for review, and once he realised the astounding implications of its findings, he urged The Lancet to publish immediately.