Justin Trudeau sought to reassure Canadians that every COVID-19 vaccine approved in the country is safe even as the European Union’s three biggest economies suspended use of AstraZeneca Plc’s shot.

Germany, France and Italy ordered health officials to stop administering the vaccine Monday after inoculated citizens reported suffering blood clots in their legs and lungs. Trudeau said his government is following the developments closely.

“Health Canada, our experts and scientists have spent an awful lot of time making sure that every vaccine approved in Canada is both safe and effective,” the prime minister told reporters in Montreal. “Therefore, the best vaccine for you to take is the very first one that is offered to you.”

Trudeau’s comments come as Canada ramps up its vaccine campaign, which got off to a slow start in part because of shipment delays. Public-health authorities in the northern nation have administered 8 doses per 100 citizens, compared to 32 and 39 doses in the U.S. and U.K., respectively. Among Group of Seven nations, only Japan is putting needles in arms slower than Canada, according to Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker

About 8 per cent of people in Montreal, Canada’s second-largest city, refused to be vaccinated over the weekend when informed they’d be getting the AstraZeneca shot, CTV News reported. Accepting whichever vaccine is offered first “is how we get through this as quickly as possible and as safely as possible,” Trudeau said.