COVID-19 is still here.

COVID-19 is real.

**Updated 8/18/2021

The D.C. area has re-issued its mask mandate, requiring everyone to mask up when indoors.

COVID-19 is still here, whether you want to believe it's a variant of the virus that we all learned about a year ago, or not, it hasn't left and probably won't for a while, unfortunately.

Hospitals across the country have seen an increase in COVID patients, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, to include DC metro areas.

Graph shows COVID cases rising in D.C.

"It's going  up again", said a nurse we interviewed working out of a Fairfax hospital.

Many people, after being fully vaccinated, believe they can't get the virus. While many are choosing to remain masked up, there are still those who believe the vaccine will protect them as they go about their daily lives without wearing a mask in public spaces.

Sadly, we know that even vaccinated people are contracting the virus.

"Both groups are getting it. The vaccinated and the unvaccinated, and children", the nurse said.

Others, still on the fence, have not yet decided whether they will get the vaccine.  The vaccine is reported to only last six months. It takes a minimum of two weeks to become effective and the so-called booster shot may be needed in some vaccines to increase its efficacy.

It is being reported that the United States has nearly 200,000 new cases in the last 24 hours with more cases being reported in children, just as school officials plan to reopen schools in the coming weeks.

RELATED: Will schools shut down again?

And while lawmakers are on the fence about whether their constituents should wear a mask, close schools, or get vaccinated our source confirms one thing: "Continue to do what you were doing when it first got here: wear your mask, wash your hands."

We'd like to also add: Get your immune system in peak condition by eating better. Eating foods known to fight viruses like garlic, ginger, lemons, lemon juice and others may help thwart early-stage symptoms.

POLL: Do you mask up? Are you vaccinated? Not planning to get vaccinated? Let us hear from you about how you're managing in a COVID-19 world.

** Updated 8/18/2021 **

AUDIO: What radio talk show host, Warren Ballentine, recommends we do now. Click here to listen