I can take this one, if you don't mind, Mr. Chair.
You have seen that NACI had recommended, given the data on hand at the time of publication, that we ask that the two doses be given preferably within a 42-day window period. That was based on the fact that in the two phase three trials, the Pfizer and the Moderna trials, participants got their second dose between 21 or 28 days, up to 42 days, and that was an average estimate. We have now seen the data from both the U.K. and Quebec and we are aware that Quebec is using a three-month interval.
We are going to make a new recommendation, so we are currently working on that. But the main idea is to try to balance the advantage of spreading out an 80% vaccine effectiveness to more people, allowing then a population health impact that is usually greater. But I think the question that remains unanswered is the duration of that 80% protection. So we have asked the U.K. to come back next week to give us an extended view on their now six weeks of follow-up. Quebec will also come back to present updated vaccine effectiveness data.
As we move forward and we see we have some leeway, we are going to be able to allow for a longer interval. We do not want to have a falling vaccine effectiveness to the point where we could be at risk of seeing variants become a problem. That balance is not an easy one to tackle without data.