Today marks the 245th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, by which our founders formally threw off a distant monarchy and established a new nation. Today is also the date that the modern-day successor to those founders â President Joe Biden â set as a different sort of independence day, our independence from the COVID-19 virus that immobilized much of the nation and, indeed, much of the world for more than a year. So, how are we doing on that score? That answer to that involves a mix of politics and science, always a troublesome brew. Biden set a goal of 70% of adult Americans getting at least one dose of the vaccine by July 4th. As of Friday, the figure stood at 66.7%.