The Public Investment Fund, which is led by Saudi Arabia’s effective ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wants to be taken seriously internationally.
In addition to its raft of investments in Saudi Arabia, it is a major investor in a variety of international entities. Those include Uber, where Mr. al-Rumayyan is a board member, the electric vehicle company Lucid Motors and a large infrastructure investment fund at Blackstone, the private equity firm.
The fund has cast itself as a global leader in governance and transparency. But some companies worry about investing in a country that has committed human rights atrocities, and many analysts doubt that there is really a wall between the fund and the royal family.
After a surge of coronavirus cases last year, Saudi Arabia has turned the numbers around with a relatively high vaccination rate and low case numbers, according to the World Health Organization. The government requires proof of vaccination for international travelers.
What to Know About Covid-19 Booster Shots
The F.D.A. has authorized booster shots for millions of recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Pfizer and Moderna recipients who are eligible for a booster include people 65 and older, and younger adults at high risk of severe Covid-19 because of medical conditions or where they work. Eligible Pfizer and Moderna recipients can get a booster at least six months after their second dose. All Johnson & Johnson recipients will be eligible for a second shot at least two months after the first.
Yes. The F.D.A. has updated its authorizations to allow medical providers to boost people with a different vaccine than the one they initially received, a strategy known as “mix and match.â€Â Whether you received Moderna, Johnson & Johnson or Pfizer-BioNTech, you may receive a booster of any other vaccine. Regulators have not recommended any one vaccine over another as a booster. They have also remained silent on whether it is preferable to stick with the same vaccine when possible.
The C.D.C. has said the conditions that qualify a person for a booster shot include: hypertension and heart disease; diabetes or obesity; cancer or blood disorders; weakened immune system; chronic lung, kidney or liver disease; dementia and certain disabilities. Pregnant women and current and former smokers are also eligible.
The F.D.A. authorized boosters for workers whose jobs put them at high risk of exposure to potentially infectious people. The C.D.C. says that group includes: emergency medical workers; education workers; food and agriculture workers; manufacturing workers; corrections workers; U.S. Postal Service workers; public transit workers; grocery store workers.
Yes. The C.D.C. says the Covid vaccine may be administered without regard to the timing of other vaccines, and many pharmacy sites are allowing people to schedule a flu shot at the same time as a booster dose.
Mr. al-Rumayyan, who is the public face of the kingdom’s increasingly global network of investments, has had a particularly busy travel schedule lately.
On Oct. 17, he sat in the owner’s box of the St. James’s Park soccer stadium in Newcastle, England, where he was cheered by fans. He wore a black-and-white scarf bearing the logo of Newcastle United, the Premier League soccer team that the Public Investment Fund recently bought a stake in, making him the club’s new chairman.
Two days later, he shook hands with Queen Elizabeth at the Global Investment Summit at Windsor Castle, an event meant to emphasize green technology and finance investment opportunities in Britain. After that, he traveled to Washington, D.C., where he received a leadership award at a 75th-anniversary event for the Middle East Institute.
