(Corrects company name in the second paragraph to Sinopharm from Sinopharm Group Co, an unrelated company; also changes dateline)

Dec 18 (Reuters) - China is planning to vaccinate 50 million people against the coronavirus before the start of the peak Lunar New Year travel season early next year, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday.

Beijing is planning to distribute 100 million doses of the two-dose inactivated vaccines made by Chinese firms Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech Ltd, the report said.

(Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)