A new adviser to the Minnesota Department of Health and former adviser on the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response team expressed his belief that freedom of assembly is not protected by the Constitution.
Andy Slavitt, who also served as an administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the Obama administration, recently wrote on Twitter that “going to a public event” is not a constitutionally protected act.
“It turns out our own liberties must be considered in the context of our obligation to society,” Slavitt said, adding that “going to work, getting on a plane, attending university, going to a public event are not rights embedded in the Constitution.”
1- Requiremwnts— Going to work, getting on a plane, attending university, going to a public event are not rights embedded in the constitution. To enjoy this we need to fulfill our obligation to those around us. 16/
— Andy Slavitt 🇺🇸💉 (@ASlavitt) August 7, 2021
According to Fox 9, Slavitt has been working with the Minnesota Department of Health to push for vaccinating students in anticipation of the 2021-2022 school year. He argued in a long Twitter thread that while “not getting vaccinated will always be an option … the cost of that choice must be higher.”
In the thread, Slavitt mentioned vaccinating 5-12-year-olds in the coming weeks, stating that schools with in-person classes will have to decide whether requiring the vaccine “is worth it.”
“It is [worth it],” Slavitt wrote.
In May, a lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by a group of American doctors to suspend approval of administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children.
Slavitt also sides with “proof of vaccination” policies, comparing a vaccine passport to “the card you need in order to drive a car.” He estimated that “vaccine requirements … will instantly add roughly 8% of the public” to the vaccinated population.
He also compared COVID-19 to smallpox, stating that “there is ample evidence the Founding Fathers saw protecting against small pox [as] fundamental” and not as a threat to liberty. He used this to further his claim that “if we don’t follow this path, the situation will be worse for everyone.”
Since working for both the Obama and Biden administrations, Slavitt, who is a resident of Edina, has authored a book titled “Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response.”
Just last week, Slavitt’s former employer, Barack Obama, hosted a lavish party to celebrate his 60th birthday. The staff alone amounted to 200 people. The party came as COVID-19 cases continued to rise due to the delta variant.
Megan Olson
Megan Olson is a 2020 graduate of the University of Minnesota with degrees in political science and history. She works in public affairs in addition to serving on the Legislative Advisory Council for School District 196. She is also on the school board for FIT academy, a charter school in Apple Valley.
