A second Ebola vaccine is to be offered to around 50,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of a major clinical trial.

Axar.az reports citing BBC.

The Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine will be used alongside a vaccine made by Merck, which has already been given to around 250,000 people.

Merck's jab has now been approved by the World Health Organization.

More than 2,100 people have died in DR Congo, in the second largest Ebola outbreak on record.

The WHO's approval of Merck's one-dose vaccine is based on it being satisfied of its safety and efficacy. The European Commission has also approved the vaccine.

J&J's vaccine, which requires two doses given 56 days apart, will be available to adults and children over one, living in two areas of the DR Congo city of Goma, where there is no active transmission of the deadly disease.

Goma, which has a population of one million people, is on the border with Rwanda and has a major international airport.