Preclinical studies of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate at UAB show results that distinguish it from other vaccine candidates that also are in the advanced stages of clinical development, Maryland-based Altimmune announced Tuesday.

AdCOVID is a single dose, intranasal spray. In animal models at UAB, it’s use resulted in a potent T-cell response at the mucus layer of the lungs, including killer CD8+ T-cells, which can recognize and kill virally infected cells. Recent reports have suggested the importance of T-cell responses for long-term protection from COVID-19. Read more.

UAB researchers said today that they will begin Phase II human trials next month on a vaccine for COVID-19 developed by Oxford University with pharmaceutical giant AstroZeneca. About 500 participants will receive the vaccine locally as part of a nationwide trial of 33,000 participants. Read more.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Altimmune, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced positive results Monday from preclinical studies of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Altimmune plans to start its first Phase I safety and immunity tests of the vaccine candidate, called AdCOVID, in humans later this year.

The vaccine candidate was tested at UAB in an intranasal spray in mice. Read more.

As Alabama continues marching toward a fuller reopening, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state continues marching upward.

But officials say it’s too early to determine whether the numbers are increasing because testing is increasing or more people are becoming infected.

A day after State Health Officer Scott Harris described infection numbers as “not as good as we could hope for” – which was also the same day the state had its worst COVID report card yet, posting 615 new cases and 19 deaths in a 25-hour period – a UAB doctor said Wednesday that people still need to take precautions.

“As we all know, Alabama has opened up and currently we are seeing an increase in our cases, particularly in hotspots such as Montgomery,” said epidemiologist Dr. Rachael Lee. “I believe Jefferson County had their highest number of cases yesterday that they’ve had this whole period of time and some of that may be reflective of testing. But it’s hard to tell at this stage.” Read more.

If Dr. Frank Franklin had the opportunity to tell Gov. Kay Ivey what she should do about loosening restrictions on businesses and other public places, his advice would be simple: Don’t, at least not quite yet.

The retired epidemiologist and pediatrician, now a professor emeritus of public health at UAB, is not convinced that the spread of the COVID-19 virus is under control in Alabama or neighboring states — three of which are already relaxing restrictions on reopening businesses and public spaces — and doesn’t want to see the progress made so far reversed.

Instead, Franklin is hoping that Ivey will announce on Tuesday that the state will stay the course for now but revisit the situation on a weekly basis, keeping transparency in the process at the forefront. Read more.