Donald Kauerauf, the director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, speaks during a press conference at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on July 21, 2021

Anti-vaccine protesters rally against Senate confirmation of Missouri health director

(Missouri Independent) – State health director Donald Kauerauf adamantly spoke against mandating face masks and COVID-19 vaccines during a hearing Monday, as anti-vaccination demonstrators protested his confirmation in the halls outside. While protesters chanted outside the Capitol hearing room, senators inside grilled Kauerauf for nearly two hours on his views on how best to mitigate […]

University Of Missouri

University of Missouri President Choi won’t ask curators to reconsider vote against mask rule

(Missouri Independent) – The University of Missouri’s Columbia campus will begin the spring semester as planned Tuesday with no option for online classes, masking, or vaccination requirements, UM System President and campus Chancellor Mun Choi wrote to faculty leaders Friday. Choi’s response to concerns raised in a letter from the Executive Committee of the campus […]

United States Supreme Court (Phot credit Laura Olson - States Newsroom)

Supreme Court blocks Biden workplace vaccine rule, allows health care workers mandate

(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s fight against the pandemic, blocking a federal mandate that workers be vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 — though the court allowed a separate rule requiring vaccinations for some health care workers. The two rulings represented a split victory for Republican attorneys general […]