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Thanks for adding this information. I was unfair to judge so harshly and be so sceptical.

So the $1T question is ... what (if anything) is this model currently predicting about the next variant?

The method, in its current incarnation, is detecting dangerous variants and not foreseeing them. We can use the same approach to forecast plausible developments, but there are so many latent variables (intrapatient evolution, mobility, vaccination status, restriction compliance), that it is more of an informed "What If?" exercise, than a true prediction. Same as with many good stories on predicting the future, we can only see what is likely to happen, not what will necessarily happen... Out of many paths only a few will be explored in the end :-)

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