Immunologist Luke O'Neill says the pandemic has meant science is now accessible to all those who want to listen.

He says this was made evident to him, after his barber took the opportunity to ask him about antigen testing.

He told The Pat Kenny Show becoming a public figure has had its ups and downs.

"Taxi drivers knew me because they knew my voice, but nobody else did.

"But as soon as you appear on the telly, people recognise your face and that was unusual.

"I'd be walking up from my lab to here, and three people would shout at me - and I thought 'Why are they shouting at me?'

"It's gone down a bit now thankfully, as I move off the TV there's less of it, but it was very strange".

He says he had an interesting experience while getting a haircut recently.

"The barber asked me about antigen tests, isn't that fantastic?

"That lifts my spirits because my mission was to get the science out to everybody, who's ever interested can listen.

"And he [said] 'I heard you on the radio, antigen testing's very important' - we'd a 10 minute chat about antigens.

"Now antigen is a technical term in immunology, it's tripping off people's tongues - isn't it great?

"I think what happened there is - not just me, but my great colleagues Kingston [Mills] and Cillian [De Gascun] and so on - the message hopefully will get through about immunology and about science.

"And it seems to have worked to some extent anyway".

'My mother will be your bodyguard'

He also says people have got in touch with him via e-mail - with some interesting suggestions.

"I was getting about 30 e-mails a day at one point from people, many concerned about the vaccine and looking for advice and so on.

"I got some really funny ones: just before Christmas, a lady sends me an e-mail and says 'Dear Luke, we've had a vote - we want you to replace the baby Jesus in the crib this Christmas'.

"Another one was - I had got accosted in public a few times - and a guy says 'Dear Luke, my mother will be your bodyguard - she can stop lightening with her hand. And her only payment is a gin and tonic and a slice of lemon'.

"That kept my spirits up, by the way, because there was fair bit of hate coming at me as well - but by and large most comments were positive in that way".

    

Prof O'Neill's new book, 'Keep Calm and Trust the Science', is available from all good bookshops and retailers