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Feb. 2, 2022Jefferson City, Mo. |  By: AP

Missouri health director out following conservative blowback

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri will soon be without a state health director following conservative outcry. State senators on Tuesday adjourned for the week without taking up Director Don Kauerauf's nomination.

The deadline to confirm him is Friday, and he'll be barred from serving after then. Kauerauf opposes government mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

He also says he's anti-abortion. But some senators and protesters still were upset that he's encouraging vaccines and questioned how strong his personal anti-abortion beliefs are.

Kauerauf took over as the state's health director in September after his predecessor, Randall Williams, left the job in April 2021 without publicly citing a reason.