JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Senate torpedoed Gov. Mike Parson’s choice to run the state health department Tuesday amid unfounded concerns that he favors mask mandates and vaccine requirements. With a snowstorm bearing down on the state and a constitutional deadline looming on Friday to approve Donald Kauerauf as director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, conservative senators balked at Parson’s choice. It was the latest example of the intersection of public health and politics at a time when COVID-19 has killed more than 17,000 Missourians. The pending snowstorm trigg…