China's Sichuan province could start administering new coronavirus vaccinations to vulnerable groups that are more likely to develop severe symptoms after infection, such as the elderly and people with underlying conditions, in the beginning of 2021, local media reported.

The southwestern province could also begin inoculating the general public after the Lunar New Year in mid-February, said the Sichuan Daily, which is backed by the local authorities of Chinese Communist party.

China has not announced an official timeline for nationwide mass inoculation or approved any Covid-19 vaccines for general public use, according to Reuters.

However, an emergency-use programme, that gives experimental vaccines still in clinical trials to specific people in high-risk groups, was launched in July.