Island Pacific Ramps Up Vaccination Efforts in Filipino-American Communities

Regional grocer Island Pacific, through its partnership with BJRx Pharmacy, a Stockton, Calif.-based chain of eight drug stores, aims to play a central role in getting the Filipino-American (FilAm) community it serves vaccinated by offering free COVID-19 vaccines in Island Pacific locations.

According to Nino Lim, founder and CEO of Island Pacific, "Almost all our team members and customers know either a family or friend whose life was cut short by COVID -- it's unimaginable how hard our community was hit by this pandemic."

Island Pacific underscored its ability to distribute large numbers of vaccinations to the underserved FilAm community, since its locations are conveniently located in  areas where members of the community live and shop.

Island Pacific's push to get as many Filipino-American vaccinated has resulted in thousands of its customers getting vaccinated to date. With so many still needing to be vaccinated in the FilAm community, Island Pacific has added more dates and locations (see image below). To avoid long lines, people can download the pre-vaccination form online and register at www.https://myturn.ca.gov.

Island Pacific has provided additional pay and free rides to encourage its own employees to get vaccinated. The supermarket chain offered up to four hours of paid time off to employees who get the vaccine. In addition, San Francisco-based Lyft will also gave each Island Pacific employee a $25 free ride for their vaccination appointment.

Island Pacific is a supermarket chain dedicated to promoting Filipino food and seafood to the rest of the world. Based in Walnut, Calif., it currently has 17 supermarket branches serving communities in California and Las Vegas.