Ebola vaccine candidates being fast-tracked to target rare strain

Three vaccine candidates are being fast-tracked to target the Ebola species spreading in Central Africa. Big organizations and companies are behind the effort, but logistics are complicated. LEILA FADEL, HOST: There are no approved vaccines for the kind of Ebola that's currently spreading in central Africa. This week, three candidates are getting fast-tracked. Global vaccine nonprofits are spending tens of millions of dollars for development and testing. But even with all that money, it'll likely be several months before any vaccines are given to people. Here to discuss is NPR's global health correspondent Jonathan Lambert. Hi, Jon. JONATHAN LAMBERT, BYLINE: Hi, Leila. FADEL: So tell us more about these new investments. LAMBERT: So there are two. One is to fund all the testing and make sure that manufacturers make enough actual doses to do all that testing. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, is giving over $60 million to three vaccine-makers. Each is developing a vaccine to target the Bundibugyo species of Ebola. That's the one that's behind this current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The other investment is from Gavi, another vaccine nonprofit. They announced they'll spend about $40 million to buy all these vaccines, assuming that eventually they're shown to work and get approved. …