MONDAY 1 JUNE
Well now, if there was no COVID-19, The Metabollix would be on our way to Singapore. I was due to speak at a special immunology meeting, and they said bring the band to play at the conference dinner. I have a voucher for the flights, for which I paid up front. I bet I’ll never use them.
We went over to our friends Mai and Martin. Had a nice meal in the garden, all consistent with the current regulations, which allow two households to meet in one household’s gardens. And something incredible happened: they ordered pints of Guinness from their local pub, which were delivered to the garden. Again, who would’ve thought such a thing could happen?
The government has released an analysis of the COVID death rates in Ireland. Five per cent ended up in hospital, and of those 1 in 3 were admitted to the ICU. The fatality rate was 0.6–1.4 per cent. This is so much more serious than flu.
On The Tonight Show with Ivan Yates. Michael Levitt came on to say the pandemic would soon be over in Ireland and indeed all over the world. Ivan asked me what I thought. I couldn’t restrain myself. I said ‘Rubbish!’ Let’s see what the future numbers tell us.
WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE
Marg drove me to Cork today. I got a letter giving me permission, as it was for an interview on COVID-19 with Maura and Dáithí on The Today Show. While we were down there, we picked our motorboat up from Billy Morrisey’s shed. Lucky to be able to do that at the same time. We towed it back to Dublin, launched it and put it back on the mooring. We’ll have it now for the summer. Can’t think of anywhere safer to be than out on the sea, wind blowing. Maybe I’ll just sail away.
THURSDAY 4 JUNE
A huge session with Pat today. Discussed how sampling sewage might reveal an outbreak before it gets a foothold. This is because the virus can end up in sewage and can be sampled at sewage plants using the PCR test. If it goes up, it means there’s an outbreak happening and lots of testing of people can then happen to limit the spread. We also discussed how men are more badly affected than women, with more mortality. Not clear why. Perhaps men have more ACE2 (the protein that SARS-CoV2 uses to get inside cells) in their lungs because testosterone boosts its expression? This means there are more receptors for the viral spike to stick into. Yet bald men seem to get less ill when infected. Female-led countries seem to be doing so much better (for example, New Zealand). In the US, COVID-19 hits lower-paid workers the most, revealing the divides in society. Huge amount of information building up, which I am trying to keep track of.
Word is Europe is opening up to allow people to travel for their holidays. Surely this is a mistake? Without proper test-trace-isolate systems that is a recipe for disaster.
The CEO of Driving Tests Ireland called and we discussed how to make driving tests safe. I said the usual: masks, good ventilation. He seemed reassured.
Wrote piece for the Sunday Independent on the battle of science versus economy. Made the case, as others have, that they are inextricably linked. Without getting the virus under control, the economy won’t come back. Not least because of consumer confidence.
FRIDAY 5 JUNE
Today was a much-needed ‘lazy’ day. Lazy because of no media work. Just helping the lab in various ways.
The Taoiseach announced that we’re moving from ‘Stay home’ to ‘Stay local’. We’re about to enter what is being called ‘Phase 2 plus’. Hard to keep track of all this. One thing is clear: no one can leave Ireland unless it’s deemed essential. When will I be able to travel again? I really, really miss it.
SUNDAY 7 JUNE
Another day of dimanchophobia. However, went to visit Desiree. This time they let me in to see her in a special room. We sat in seats 3 metres apart. They said we had 30 minutes. There was a clock on the wall behind me, and she kept saying how many minutes were left. We had a laugh over it. She seems happy enough. A Buddhist, living in the moment because her short-term memory has gone. Not the worst way to be, I suppose.
MONDAY 8 JUNE
AstraZeneca said their vaccine trial was well advanced. They must be confident, as they are making 2 billion doses. They’ve said they won’t be making a profit from it, which is curious indeed. Interesting that a big pharma like AstraZeneca have signed up for that.
Got an excellent email from the journal Cell Metabolism. The referee reports on Alex’s paper are in and they are reasonable! This is unusual, as often they ask for a lot more experiments. But it looks like in this time of COVID-19 they are being a bit more lenient as they know labs are working at full capacity. The experiments they are asking for are straightforward. Alex is delighted, as indeed am I. I went to tell him but he was in the toilet, so I waited outside, and told him as he came out. He beamed away! Makes all the effort worthwhile, as it’s so important for his CV, and our data will be out there for all to see.
Got home at 8 p.m. Sam was working on ‘Candemic’, his Instagram beer-review page. He’s also making T-shirts and masks with ‘Candemic’ on them. I said he should contact various brewers and ask for free samples. Wicklow Wolf and O’Hara’s would be good. He may well turn into an entrepreneur!
TUESDAY 9 JUNE
Another big call today about Inflazome. Roche are still interested (phew!). They will get back to us soon. It would be terrible to get so far and then for it all to unravel. Still, it’s happened to me before with Opsona (my first start-up biotech company, which was almost bought at one point until the deal fell through at the last minute) so I must remain strong.
WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE
Hugely productive day. Funny how sometimes you get things done like they’ve never been done, to quote good old John Lennon, in the song ‘Hold On’ from The Plastic Ono Band. A remarkable album in its rawness.
Ciana, another graduate student in the lab, is making progress on itaconate acting a bit like a steroid. This could be good for our COVID-19 project, as the steroid dexamethasone continues to show promise as a therapy to treat severe patients. It reduces the death rate by about 20 per cent. What if itaconate could do the same or better – wouldn’t that be good?
On Drivetime talking about masks. Again. And then gave 1,300 GPs a COVID-19 update via Zoom. Never have I spoken to so many people in so few months.
THURSDAY 11 JUNE
Sometimes I wonder what I’d do without my regular Pat ritual. Today I informed listeners that data has changed and surfaces aren’t quite as dangerous as previously thought, though of course we still need to keep surfaces clean. And another thing: cows could be a great source of antibodies to treat COVID-19. They make twice as much antibody per millilitre of blood as humans – and of course, being large animals, they have a lot of blood. The cows might save us! John from Claire Byrne Live rang me after and wondered if we could do something on that … get a cow into the studio? Or a life-size model? Great, I said!
Made four more videos for schools, including one for Lucan Educate Together. Yet again, blown away by the commitment of our teachers – we are so lucky with our education system.
Bit of a hoo-ha in the Dáil today. NPHET are still being unclear about masks, saying the evidence wasn’t ‘great’. I tweeted on how outrageous that was. Meeting Damien Nee, who was on the group advising on masks and other areas, tomorrow.
FRIDAY 12 JUNE
Damien came in with Duncan Smith, Labour TD. Duncan had asked the question of NPHET regarding masks. He is strongly of the view that they should be recommended.
Met up in Brian’s garden for a few pints. My old pal Cormac Kilty came along. We had great chat, which reminded us of how things used to be.
Put the absolute finishing touches to Never Mind. Satisfying in the extreme! Added in a few more COVID-19 references. Got several digs into Trump. Was outraged when I saw him say live on TV that he would inject bleach, and then saying that he would just take hydroxychloroquine. ‘What have you got to lose?’ he said. ‘Your life,’ said the experts.
Went for a walk tonight and felt like I was actually walking on air. Not sure what it is about me, but I find I can fully relax after I’ve done some worthwhile work. And because I was raised a Catholic I can’t even blame the Protestant work ethic for that! I have a sense that the coming week is going to be mega.
MONDAY 15 JUNE
Today was all about Claire Byrne Live. We moved some of my lab into the studio. We brought a PCR machine, an ELISA plate reader and various bits and bobs. And then Eva from my lab demonstrated how the ELISA machine works. She explained that the ELISA is a very sensitive way to detect antibodies. We discussed antibody tests and I pointed at the PCR machine and said that’s where the virus can be measured, whereas the ELISA machine is where antibodies can be measured. They had made a great prop for us: the SARS-CoV2 virus, which is like a small football, and an antibody molecule. I’ll bet they’ll come in handy for future demos. Eva did a great job – it’s not easy pipetting live on TV.
The FDA revoked its emergency-use authorisation for hydroxychloroquine, saying the various trials that have been done have failed. This is how science should work: idea, test, get data, come to a conclusion, repeat. Bottom line from all that is hydroxychloroquine provides no benefit in COVID-19. Are you listening, Mr Trump?
TUESDAY 16 JUNE
Another important day in the fight on COVID-19. They are coming thick and fast now. The data on the drug dexamethasone was published. It has been shown to protect people with severe COVID-19, decreasing deaths in one third of those patients who would otherwise have died. I had worked on this during my PhD as an anti-inflammatory, so I took a picture of the graph on it from my PhD thesis and sent it to Pat. This is good news. Doctors now have an anti-inflammatory to help people. Looks much better than remdesivir.
WEDNESDAY 17 JUNE
My birthday! Fifty-six years of age now. Ah sure, what of it, eh? Another year goes by, and what a terribly strange one. Boys gave me pressies before I headed into work. A nice camera! In the lab, Cait brought in a cake for me. She always does that – so kind of her. And my favourite, Victoria sponge! Stevie then came in by boat – first journey this season. He came up the Liffey and picked me up at the Convention Centre. Very thoughtful of him. We speeded out to Dún Laoghaire.
Marg bought me a new fancy outdoor fireplace – don’t know what to call it, chiminea or something? It looks Scandinavian, but it’s Mexican and was made in Donegal. We put some turf in it, lit it and had a few drinks. Feel like I’ve got a cold coming on. Urgh. Or could it be …
THURSDAY 18 JUNE
Felt fine on waking. Just goes to show – the vagaries of our immune systems. Trying to ram home the message about masks this morning. Pat coined the great phrase, ‘My mask protects you, your mask protects me.’ We discussed other coronaviruses and I told him about SADS-CoV, which infects pigs and stands for Swine Acute Diarrhoea Syndrome. At least SARS-CoV2 doesn’t cause acute diarrhoea.
BBC Radio Northern Ireland, then The Six O’Clock Show. Met Eilish O’Carroll, aka Winnie in Mrs Brown’s Boys. She said she’d found lockdown very tough. She tried cooking, but as she lived on her own she couldn’t see the point. ‘I’d bake some scones and then eat them all.’ Who would have thought that the baking of scones would be an existential threat? Brought home yet again the difficulties people have been going through.
SATURDAY 20 JUNE
Got into Cavistons! Only took 20 minutes. A woman in the queue said to me that the virus was now gone from Ireland, so what’s all the fuss about? It felt like a magical wonderland. Bought three types of fish and some smoked duck. My God, we’ll have a feast.
SUNDAY 21 JUNE
Father’s Day – at least the lads remembered. Brought me breakfast in bed. Went out in the boat with Stevie, around Dalkey Island. Nice sunny day. Lots of boats out. No virus out here.
Watched an interesting show on BBC called The Lumineers. Eve Hewson plays the lead role. She is a compelling actress. Set in New Zealand in the 1800s. Unusual and interesting. I’ll watch it every week.
MONDAY 22 JUNE
Sweden didn’t have a big lockdown and is being held up by anti-lockdowners as an example of what to do. They have had more deaths than their Scandinavian neighbours, but some say it was a price worth paying, as they might now have herd immunity. There is no evidence for that at all, and it’s not ideal to compare countries. Sweden has fewer people on average in each household, which might decrease case numbers. All kinds of variables at play. Limit the variables when you’re looking for an answer. I predict Sweden will look back and regret the death rate it has seen.
A man who went into five nightclubs in Japan infected 96 people. One person in a poorly ventilated restaurant infected 10 people out of 89. I want to let people know that they have to take care.
I interviewed Bill Campbell by Skype for the Royal Irish Academy. I asked him why he was so obsessed with parasitic worms. He said it was because they were so ingenious and beautiful. He’s 90 and has never lost his Donegal accent, in spite of living in the US for decades. He is such a lovely, modest man. Like so many, he hasn’t seen his grandchildren in months. He’s a bit sceptical about ivermectin being useful against COVID-19, which has been reported. Winning the Nobel Prize in no way fazed him. He said he and his wife had a tremendous time in Stockholm. His wife’s main worry was what dresses to wear to the events. He said a big thrill was going to the White House, and Barack Obama giving him a parasitic heartworm plush toy. A drug Bill had discovered is used to treat heartworm in dogs, so not only has Bill helped prevent blindness in humans from a parasitic worm, but he also saves man’s best friend. What a hero.
WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE
Emphasised on Ryan Tubridy this morning that everyone should avoid the three ‘Cs’: close contact, closed spaces and crowds. This was first used by public health authorities in Japan, and it’s an easy thing to remember.
THURSDAY 25 JUNE
Alex is almost ready to resubmit his paper. Went over it and it’s looking good, hooray! I am optimistic, but until you get the acceptance from the journal you can never be certain. Today was a glorious day, so I thought, to hell with it. Out in the boat. My old college pals Peadar and Jock came along. We anchored off Dalkey Island. There were lots of boats there. Stevie spotted a huge speedboat coming along, with someone on jet skis alongside. He said it was Conor McGregor – and indeed it was. It felt like the Irish Riviera, at least for one day. Marg went for a swim off the boat with Stevie. Sam jumped in too. We then had some cool beers. No fear of the three Cs when you’re at sea, with a lovely warm summer breeze blowing.
At last Simon Harris has announced that face coverings are now mandatory on public transport. A step in the right direction. Hopefully we will become a nation of mask-wearers, just like the Asian countries.
Another important milestone today. China have approved the first vaccine for COVID-19! But there’s a trick – it’s only for the military and they haven’t done a proper Phase 3 trial. In effect, what this means is the army gets the vaccine and the Phase 3 large-scale trial runs in parallel. Unprecedented but hugely important. They must be confident that it will work.
FRIDAY 26 JUNE
Ordered pizza and watched Elbow playing at Glastonbury on TV with Sam and a couple of his mates. We all wondered when we will get back to gigs again.
Meanwhile, society is reopening all over the world. I saw a report that said half the world’s population has been in some kind of quarantine. But new deaths and cases are plunging in Europe and Asia. There’s a prediction that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. I hope so. But the UK reported its largest-ever fall in GDP.
Well, well … Fianna Fáil–Fine Gael have agreed to form a coalition. Tough road ahead for them. I wish them well.
SUNDAY 28 JUNE
Bit of a hangover, it must be said. A few too many beers last night, but jeez, I felt I deserved them. Bill Campbell interview was broadcast by the Royal Irish Academy.
Noticing a fair few attacks on Twitter. To be expected. They seem to fall into four camps: anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, people accusing me of being in the pay of pharmaceutical companies, and what I call general nastiness. Reminds me of being in the playground at school, and someone shouts abuse at you. Twitter does not lend itself to debate. I think it should only be used for information exchange. Intriguing to watch and to consider the motivations behind the negativity. Fear? Jealousy? Hate? All the usual gamut of human emotions and frailty. If I was younger, it might bother me. But I’m too old to worry too much. And a lot of people send nice stuff too. As Rudyard Kipling said: ‘If you meet triumph and disaster, and treat both imposters just the same, you’ll be a man.’ My dad used to say that but would change the end to ‘you’ll be a bloody idiot’!
We are now six months into this pandemic. More than 10 million cases, and over 500,000 deaths. It just keeps climbing and climbing, in spite of these indications that it might be slowing down. And people still keep denying it.
MONDAY 29 JUNE
Another Monday, another session with Pat. Covered lots of things, including special organoids, grown in a lab, that are like lung tissue and can be used to study infection. But I wonder how long can we go on like this. When will we go back to weekly sessions on the latest science, whatever that might be? It’s the biggest science story since … the moon landing? Reminds me of the line in that song from World War One about American soldiers going back to the US: ‘How you gonna keep ’em down on the farm, now that they’ve seen Paree?’ In my case: ‘How you gonna talk about any other science news, now that you’ve been going on and on about COVID-19?’
And today was another good day because … guess what? Hairdressers, barbers, gyms, cinemas and churches have all reopened. Pubs serving food also reopened but not ‘wet’ pubs, as they are being called. Another new term. Tony Holohan has pointed out that a packet of peanuts does not constitute a meal. He knows the Irish well. The excitement of it! This is Phase 3 of the reopening. Wouldn’t it be great if we never have to go back to Phase 2?
TUESDAY 30 JUNE
Twitter bugging me a little still, but more disturbingly, got a nasty email. Next time it won’t just be an email. I will come to your house. This gave me pause for thought. I’ll soon need a bodyguard! What seems to rile people is being told what to do. Don’t they realise my only intention is for the greater good? Still, all over social media I see people being attacked all the time. These are the times we live in, I guess.
Gave a talk to the senior management at AIB. AIB have kindly given €2.5 million to our COVID-19 centre, which is just starting up. It means lots of labs in Trinity working together, some in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute and some at the Trinity Translational Medicines Institute up at St James’s hospital. Working on everything from testing to vaccines to therapies. We also have funding from Science Foundation Ireland, so we are up and running. Great progress indeed. Lots of questions on where we are at. Also more and more about the vaccine prospects, so I told them about China’s progress.
The two biggest things with COVID-19 this month are the gradual reopening (here’s hoping) and the Chinese vaccine being approved. In other news, Never Mind is off to print. And the Roche uncertainty. All these parts of my life interlinking and turning like one big machine inside my head – it’s no wonder I have to douse it with beer (nature’s lubricant) every so often.