Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker visited a western Massachusetts hospital Tuesday morning, where he recapped the latest information about the state's COVID-19 vaccine rollout. "We're obviously grateful to everybody who stepped up to get the vaccine. Those efforts they've put in over the past 10 months have been tremendous," Baker said about the staff at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield during his visit.“The vaccine is safe and effective and when it is your turn, we hope everyone will step up," Baker said. Dr. Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health, said there have been fewer than 10 allergic reactions out of about 6,000 doses administered by the organization, while some others have experienced sore arms and flu-like symptoms.It's also still too early to gauge the impact of Christmas gatherings on the pandemic, Baker said, but he noted that a more virulent variant of the virus striking the United Kingdom is likely already in Massachusetts.“I think most of us are working on the assumption that it’s here. There’s no reason for it not to be,” he said.About 287,000 first doses of the vaccine have been shipped to Massachusetts and just over 117,000 doses have been administered, Baker said. Of the doses given, about 70,000 went to hospital workers dealing directly with COVID-19 patients. Massachusetts has a population of about 6.9 million.Tuesday's visit follows Monday's announcements of a plan to begin widespread vaccinations of police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel next week. Those plans include the establishment of certain vaccination sites specifically for first responders and an announcement that state health officials were working to create at least four mass vaccination sites. Also Monday, health officials announced a plan to move residents age 75 or older higher on the vaccine priority list.The Associated Press contributed to this report.