(NEW YORK) — National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said Sunday he believes vaccine requirements could make a difference in slowing the rapid spread of COVID-19 and acknowledged how politics has polarized public opinion on pandemic mitigation strategies.

“Why is it that a mandate about a vaccine or wearing a mask suddenly becomes a statement of your political party? We never should have let that happen.” Collins told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos.

“Come on, America — we’re incredibly polarized about politics, we don’t really need to be polarized about a virus that’s killing people,” Collins continued. “We ought to be doing everything we can to save lives.”

.@gstephanopoulos: “Is it time for more vaccine mandates?”@NIHDirector Dr. Francis Collins: “Yeah, I think we ought to use every public health tool that we can when people are dying.” https://t.co/OFn9QFfihK pic.twitter.com/d7ajJA2nxC

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 8, 2021

Saturday marked the fourth consecutive day of more than 100,000 new daily COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And Friday, the U.S. recorded its highest daily COVID-19 case count in six months, with more than 120,000 new cases reported.

And though more than 50% of Americans are fully vaccinated and that rate increased by 25% in the last week, according to the CDC, due to the rapidly spreading delta variant, some states and counties have reimplemented mitigation strategies, such as mask mandates.

Collins at first did not give a direct answer on whether he believed more vaccine mandates should be implemented, initially saying he celebrates when businesses decide to require vaccinations for employees.

“As a person who runs the National Institutes of Health with 45,000 employees and contractors, I am glad to see the president insisting that we go forward requiring vaccinations or if people are unwilling to do that, then regular testing, at least once or twice a week, which will be very inconvenient,” Collins said.

“I think we ought to use every public health tool we can when people are dying,” Collins added.

“That was about as close as a yes as you could get. You clearly believe that vaccine mandates could make a difference,” Stephanopoulos pressed.

“I do believe they should make a difference,” Collins responded. “I understand how that can sometimes set off all kinds of resistance. But isn’t that a shame?”

.@GStephanopoulos asks @NIHDirector his best advice for parents.

“Think about masks in the way that they ought to be thought about: this is not a political statement or an invasion of your liberties. This is a lifesaving medical device.” https://t.co/KfLFZu3Wd8 pic.twitter.com/G6BtGJxemH

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 8, 2021

If more people had gotten vaccinated when vaccines became widely available, the current surge fueled by the delta variant could have been mitigated, Collins said earlier in the interview, responding to a USA TODAY front page headline: “We are failing one another.”

“I’m afraid we should not really have ever gotten in the place we are,” Collins said. “In that regard, yes, we are failing. … Now we’re paying the terrible price.”

As more children are currently hospitalized than at any other point in the pandemic, Stephanopoulos asked Collins whether the delta variant is more serious for children.

“We don’t have rigorous data to show for sure,” Collins responded. “But this is a virus that is not only more contagious, but potentially more lethal.”

With the school year set to begin across the nation, Collins said he would ask parents to think about masks as a “life-saving medical device” and ask their children to wear them.

“We know that kids under 12 are likely to get infected and if we don’t have masks in schools, this virus will spread more widely,” Collins told Stephanopoulos. “It will probably result in outbreaks in schools and kids will have to go back to remote learning which is the one thing we really want to prevent.”

“It’s a small price to pay for being able to keep kids where they need to be to learn,” Collins added.

.@GStephanopoulos asks @NIHDirector his best advice for parents.

“Think about masks in the way that they ought to be thought about: this is not a political statement or an invasion of your liberties. This is a lifesaving medical device.” https://t.co/KfLFZu3Wd8 pic.twitter.com/G6BtGJxemH

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 8, 2021

While the current vaccines have high efficacy in stopping the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, Collins said he worries about “the day when a variant arises that is so different from the original Wuhan virus” that it evades the current vaccines and requires the quick development of a booster shot.

“The best way to prevent that from happening is to reduce the number of infections because that’s how mutants happen. It’s because people are infected with the virus and it copies itself slightly wrong and then you get something that’s even worse,” Collins said.

.@NIHDirector tells @GStephanopoulos that health officials “don’t have anxieties yet” about vaccines not protecting against other COVID-19 variants.

“The best way to prevent that from happening is to reduce the number of infections.” https://t.co/KfLFZu3Wd8 pic.twitter.com/YjfrQldu0Q

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 8, 2021

As the country awaits the Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the COVID-19 vaccines, Collins said he has been in close contact with the agency and they hope to issue full authorization within the next month.

“But meanwhile, while people are waiting for that — and I understand that would help — please be clear about this, the vaccines have incredible evidence for their safety and effectiveness. They work against delta. They will save your life,” Collins said.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — This weekend, some of Florida’s largest school districts have moved to require masks for students, the latest in a weeklong saga that began when Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order aimed at preventing districts from mandating face coverings for kids.

However, the mandates — issued by districts including Hillsborough (Tampa), Orange (Orlando), and Palm Beach — come with a catch: parents are allowed to opt their children out of them, without providing a reason.

Giving the choice to opt out complies with an emergency rule issued Saturday by the Florida Department of Health, which told districts they must give parents the option.

The state’s biggest school district, Miami-Dade, has not announced whether it will mandate face coverings for students. Its latest protocols, issued July 29, require them on school buses but not inside school buildings.

Broward Public Schools, the state’s second-largest district, has not updated its guidance from Wednesday, which said masks are required for students. The guidance did not mention the choice of opting out.

Some large school districts, like Polk, Pinellas, and Lee, are making masks optional for students, according to their most updated guidance.

Florida reported 23,903 COVID-19 cases in a single day on Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making it the state’s third straight day with over 20,000 new COVID cases.

As of Saturday, according to the Florida Hospital Association, there are 13,348 people hospitalized across the state — the highest figure the state has had during the pandemic. Nearly 30% of inpatients have COVID and 43.3% of adult intensive care unit patients have COVID.

Currently, one out of five new COVID infections are in Florida.

Below are the current mask policies for the 10 largest school districts in Florida, with links to the most recent guidance:

– Miami-Dade: optional
– Broward: required, with no opt-out option
– Hillsborough: required, with an opt-out option
– Orange: required for the first 30 days, with an opt-out option
– Palm Beach: required, with an opt-out option
– Duval: required, with an opt-out option
– Polk: optional
– Pinellas: optional
– Lee: optional
-Pasco: optional

ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(PLUMAS COUNTY, Calif.) — Four people are missing as the Dixie Fire rages on in California, the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Saturday.

“We are seeking the public and the media’s assistance is helping us locate the individuals so we can report back to their loved ones,” they said, adding that their investigation unit has already located 21 other individuals who were previously unaccounted for.

The sheriff’s office had said earlier that eight people remained unaccounted for, but some have since been found.

“We request if you know where any of these people are to contact them and have them call the Sheriff’s Office at 530-283-6300 to let us know they are safe, so we can report back to the person(s) looking for them,” the police said.

The names of the five unaccounted for individuals are: Robert Nelson of Chester, Donna Shelton of Greenville, Dianne Doppert of Greenville and Shenandoah Lisenbee of Greenville, according to the statement. Authorities said Shelton was reported safe, but they have not made contact with her.

Cal Fire public information officer Rick Carhart said Saturday afternoon that four firefighters were injured in the west zone during the morning. They were taken to area hospitals. Three have been released, while one remains in the hospital in stable condition.

The Dixie Fire has been burning near Feather River Canyon for weeks and has now scorched through more than 446,723 acres since it sparked on July 13.

It is 21% contained and is now considered the third-largest fire in California history. More than 5,100 fire personnel are currently working on containing and putting it out, according to Cal Fire.

The downtown neighborhood of Greenville, about 150 miles northeast of Sacramento, has been hit the hardest by the out-of-control fire, with Plumas County Sheriff Todd Johns saying Thursday that “well over 100 homes” and many businesses and historic building have been destroyed by the flames.

At least 31,000 people have been evacuated.

The fire “burnt down our entire downtown. Our historical buildings, families homes, small businesses, and our children’s schools are completely lost,” Plumas County Supervisor Kevin Goss wrote on Facebook.

It is one of 90 large wildfires, many of them uncontained, that are currently burning in the West.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(PLUMAS COUNTY, Calif.) — Five people are missing as the Dixie Fire rages on in California, the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Saturday.

“We are seeking the public and the media’s assistance is helping us locate the individuals so we can report back to their loved ones,” they said, adding that their investigation unit has already located 21 other individuals who were previously unaccounted for.

The sheriff’s office had said earlier that eight people remained unaccounted for, but five were located and two others reported missing.

“We request if you know where any of these people are to contact them and have them call the Sheriff’s Office at 530-283-6300 to let us know they are safe, so we can report back to the person(s) looking for them,” the police said.

The names of the five unaccounted for individuals are: Danny Sczenski of Greenville, Glen Gallagher of Greenville, Donna Shelton of Chester, Dianne Doppert of Greenville and Lena Rhynes of Greenville, according to the statement. Authorities said Gallagher and Shelton were reported safe, but they have not made contact with them.

Cal Fire public information officer Rick Carhart said Saturday afternoon that four firefighters were injured in the west zone during the morning. They were taken to area hospitals. Three have been released, while one remains in the hospital in stable condition.

The Dixie Fire has been burning near Feather River Canyon for weeks and has now scorched through more than 446,723 acres since it sparked on July 13.

It is 21% contained and is now considered the third-largest fire in California history. More than 5,100 fire personnel are currently working on containing and putting it out, according to Cal Fire.

The downtown neighborhood of Greenville, about 150 miles northeast of Sacramento, has been hit the hardest by the out-of-control fire, with Plumas County Sheriff Todd Johns saying Thursday that “well over 100 homes” and many businesses and historic building have been destroyed by the flames.

At least 31,000 people have been evacuated.

The fire “burnt down our entire downtown. Our historical buildings, families homes, small businesses, and our children’s schools are completely lost,” Plumas County Supervisor Kevin Goss wrote on Facebook.

It is one of 90 large wildfires, many of them uncontained, that are currently burning in the West.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The Coast Guard has released a video that shows a nail-biting race to save lives aboard the tragic Seacor Power — an oil industry boat that capsized off the Louisiana coast in April, killing 13 people.

The video shows a rescue worker suspended from a helicopter searching for survivors in murky and turbulent waters. Towering waves batter the vessel, flooding the boat’s deck.

Three men desperately held onto the side of the 175-foot-long boat during the rescue effort, NOLA reported, with one of the three men describing his harrowing rescue.

“When we first got on scene, I remember them right there waving,” the helicopter’s pilot, Jim Peters told NOLA.

As of Aug. 1, the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board are convening in a series of daily public hearings, expected to last through Aug. 13.

ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

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