Buckingham Palace announced that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip Saturday received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

A spokesman said that the Queen, 94, and her husband, 99, "Today received their vaccine against COVID-19," joining about 1.5 million people who received the first dose of the vaccine in the United Kingdom.

A second source told the British News Agency that the Queen and her husband were vaccinated by the royal family doctor at Windsor Palace, where they are in isolation.

The agency stated that the Queen, who is usually secretive about her health, "decided to publish this information in order to avoid inaccuracies and potential rumors."

Saturday, the United Kingdom counted about 60,000 new cases of COVID-19, which raises the number of confirmed infections since the start of the epidemic to more than three million.

The country, which is in lockdown for the third time, is running a "race against time," with hospitals on the verge of reaching maximum capacity.