vaccine Photo:VCG

A total of 118,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in Southwest China's Sichuan Province and the province plans to vaccinate all high-risk groups by February 5, local health officials said Thursday. 

The Sichuan provincial government held a video conference on epidemic control and prevention work in winter and spring on Thursday. 

Jing Jing, an official from the Sichuan provincial health department, said at the conference that 46,000 Sichuan residents had accepted the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and another 12,000 had accepted the total two doses. 

According to Jing, 118,000 vaccine doses have arrived in Sichuan and the province is accelerating emergency vaccination of high-risk groups, along with vaccine purchase and storage. 

The province will finish the first vaccination dose for all high-risk groups by January 15 and the two doses by February 5. 

The Sichuan provincial government said on its website on December 8 that it has begun coronavirus vaccine emergency use for 12 types of high-risk groups - about 2 million people, including medical workers and cold-chain industry employees - with inoculation scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.   

Vaccines will be provided to the general public shortly after the 2021 Spring Festival, which falls on February 12. 

The government said that vaccines provided in the province are mainly inactivated COVID-19 vaccines, but did not clarify which company they are from. The vaccine costs 200 yuan ($30.62) per dose. 

Sichuan is reportedly the first province to reveal the amount of vaccines it has accepted. It is also one of several places in China that has recently had COVID-19 outbreaks.