The private sector is committed to ensure a swift rollout of coronavirus vaccines to employees with the anticipated arrival of over a million doses of AstraZeneca jabs.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion made the statement ahead of the arrival of the first batch of the AstraZeneca jabs procured by the private sector scheduled on Friday. Around 2.75 million employees from nearly 500 companies are expected to receive these coronavirus vaccines.

“We are welcoming a total of 1.15M doses of AstraZeneca vaccines today ordered by the private sector and another 1.15 million doses in August and the rest are expected to be delivered in the coming months," Concepcion said in a statement.

“We want to help the government so that we can execute the vaccine rollout in the fastest and most efficient way possible. Allowing us to execute, we could focus on the vaccination of our employees, the LGUs could focus on its constituents, and the national government could focus on the rest that are not covered," he said.

"We need a fast and almost perfect rollout and the private sector, with the arrival of these initial doses from AstraZeneca, can now do that for its employees," he said.

The upcoming arrival of the AstraZeneca jabs is made possible by “A Dose of Hope” initiative led by Concepcion that was launched last November. The private sector purchased the COVID-19 vaccines under a tripartite deal with the national government and the AstraZeneca vaccine maker.

Under "A Dose of Hope" initiative, the private companies were able to procure a total of 5.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, according to Concepcion.

Earlier, Concepcion proposed the expansion of operating capacity of businesses once they reach "micro herd immunity." To attain micro herd immunity, the private sector aims to vaccinate 80 percent of employees in malls, offices, and other office buildings and create the safe spaces.

“I believe that if we are able to vaccinate 80-plus percent of employees in a building, that means herd immunity is achieved in that group, awaiting full herd immunity that is necessary for the country's economic recovery,” he said.

The Palace earlier urged Concepcion to send a formal proposal to the government task force in charge of addressing the pandemic. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the task force is expected to consider such proposal once vaccination goals are reached.