THURSDAY 1 APRIL
I can’t help but feel this new month will bring a constant stream of good news, with a few glitches here and there of course. Another amazing occurrence today. The US embassy asked me to give a talk to their staff. Word got out and finally staff from 27 embassies in Dublin attended, including six ambassadors. I mean, for heaven’s sake! Gave them the Full Monty of an update. The Chinese embassy was also on, but I didn’t talk about origins.
Then another talk for the Cystic Fibrosis Society of Ireland – an update on COVID-19 but also on how our anti-inflammatory drug might work in CF. Gerry and Oliver McElvaney got great data on that. They are the key CF doctors in Ireland, and it’s been a productive collaboration.
Left it a bit late going to the butchers. Asked Noel if he had any lamb left. He laughed and said, would you ever go on with yourself? And then he sold me a turkey. Knocked €20 off the price. I came home with a turkey for Easter Sunday dinner. Marg was not impressed, but we got four dinners out of it. Cold turkey had me on the run, as John Lennon would say
SUNDAY 4 APRIL
Another Easter Sunday with COVID-19. Surely the last one! We never ever thought we’d be in this position a year ago. Went to see Desiree again. She had a lovely Easter hat on – they look after her so well there. One of the care assistants said he had done a PhD in immunology – worked on transplantation. We had a great old chat. Very well informed, as you might expect. An immunologist minding Desiree! Sure, how could it be better?
FaceTime call with Stevie and my sister, Hellie. He is with her in Brighton for Easter, which is brilliant. Two O’Neills cut off from us, but at least they can spend time together. Hellie is so loving to my two boys and a great influence on them.
TUESDAY 6 APRIL
Had to correct a lot of senior sophister immunology projects today. The day job. They all managed to somehow mention COVID-19. Extra marks all round!
THURSDAY 8 APRIL
So, the EMA has officially said the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe. They said it is ‘possibly’ causing a rare type of clotting in the brain, but that the benefits far outweigh the risks. This is good. Tried to reassure listeners today. There will be bumps from time to time …
The UK and Canada are using up all their vaccines. They aren’t keeping any in reserve for the second shot. This is because one shot has been shown to protect by a lot – 76 per cent for AstraZeneca and 80 per cent for Pfizer and Moderna. Kingston agrees that we should get it all out as soon as we can. I made the point clearly but will anyone listen? This is the quickest way to protect our people.
Great discussion today with the GSK immunology advisory group. They are doing a great job on their programme against COVID-19, working with lots of other companies to help optimise their vaccines. And working hard on new treatments. Such hope when you see a big pharma doing that. And they’re all at it.
A sad day. Jane didn’t win the election for new provost of Trinity! Linda Doyle won. Jane was eliminated after the first count. I accompanied her through it all. Not clear what happened. She is such an outstanding academic. Maybe that was the problem. I said she was too good for them. We opened the prosecco anyway. I will of course support our new provost, as Linda is great too. History was made: the first woman in the history of the college. And not only that – Rachael Blackmore won the Grand National, another first.
Got an email from a lawyer asking me to be an expert witness in a case of a woman being held in quarantine in a hotel despite been vaccinated. I wasn’t needed in the end, because they let her out. The mandatory hotel quarantine seems to be annoying everyone.
MONDAY 12 APRIL
Big session with Pat on the clots – an autoimmune reaction to platelets in the blood. This is what causes the clotting. At least we know, and it can be treated with something called IVIG. They’re calling it VITT, or ‘vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia’. Another new disease, but so rare. We also talked about the Valneva vaccine, which has given spectacular results in a Phase 2 trial. And how a drug called baricitinib, which blocks inflammatory cells, reduced deaths by 38 per cent on a trial. The good news keeps on coming.
But then in the afternoon there was another speed bump. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was paused in the US because six people have had the same kinds of clots with what were seen with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Again, extremely rare. More likely to be struck by lightning. I think this pausing is happening because of the intense spotlight on the vaccines and also the regulators, and because it can be a lethal side effect. The National Immunisation Advisory Committee also have recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be used in the over-60s because young people are at such a low risk from COVID-19. This is causing consternation.
TUESDAY 13 APRIL
Huge conference on innate immunity with participants from 36 countries. It was supposed to be in Killarney. Bah! Look at all the money that would have brought in. It’s organised by my former student Kate Fitzgerald, who is in the University of Massachusetts. I gave Tristram’s data on clotting. A lot of interest, which is excellent for Tristram, as he might get a really good publication out of it. I will press for that.
Leo Varadkar was on with Pat just before me. Said he would listen to what I had to say about getting all the vaccine supply out. It must be done, I reiterated. Please Leo, please!
Another online conference – this one was meant to be in Boston. All about sex differences in the immune system. This is so important. Women are a much higher risk of autoimmune diseases, while men are at a higher risk of autoinflammatory diseases. Akiko Iwasaki gave a fascinating talk on why men do less well with COVID-19. She is leading the way on COVID-19 immunology in the US, and it was a privilege to hear her speak. We all felt it was such a shame that we couldn’t get together in person.
In spite of all the ups and downs and ins and out, today is actually a good day. Over 1 million people have now been vaccinated in Ireland. The number of people in hospital and in the ICU is the lowest it has been since mid-December and will continue to go only in one direction. Philip Nolan said it was all very positive. And Pfizer have said we can have 500,000 doses of their vaccine now. We are on our way. Over 870 million people are now vaccinated in the world, in 154 countries. And Israel reported today that it has exited COVID-19. The vaccine has beaten it there. Exited COVID-19! Now there’s a phrase, and it was coined by Eran Segal, one of Israel’s leading immunologists. And the UK numbers look positive too – over 90 per cent drop in deaths and hospitalisations.
And yet, there have been over 140 million cases and as of today 2,947,644 lives lost to this virus. The virus that jumped from a bat into a human about 18 months ago. I still find it staggering.
But now I can see the light. There may be the odd blips ahead, and who knows what they will be, but we will get there. It’s definitely beatable. And I need a holiday. Fifteen months of hard labour … and no doubt people need a holiday from me.
Got a brilliant email today:
I work with a group of maintenance lads in Irish Rail. We’ve been following your Newstalk interviews and even reading your book. The normal read in our van at lunchtime is an English tabloid, so you’ve been definitely influencing us … and bringing a little science to our lives. I never thought I’d see working men in their fifties reading science books, many of whom were only educated to primary level, so all very positive, Luke. The new catchphrase in the van is ‘What does the data say?’ – to much amusement! Thanks a million, Luke, keep up the great work. You are welcome to a cup of tea and a lunchtime chat in our van when we’re all vaccinated.
And that sums it all up for me. When we’re all vaccinated indeed. Right, I must crack on as per. I wonder what will happen next?