Trump tamps down speculation Russia plague lab worker died from bioweapon: Going to find out soon enough

WASHINGTON — President Trump downplayed the possibility that a Russian plague scientist died from a biological weapon in Siberia — saying “we don’t think so” but that “we’re going to find out soon enough.”Trump said he had just been briefed by US officials and that Russia hasn’t shared much information — as prominent American scientists and security experts raise alarms.Asked if Daria Shipilova, 28, may have died from a biological weapon, Trump told journalists in the Oval Office, “Well, we don’t think so.We’re going to find out soon enough, but we don’t think so.”“If you listen to them, it’s under control.

You know, people have said that before about other things,” Trump said.“So we hope it is.

They’re very sophisticated, very smart, and they’re saying it’s very much under control.”Trump acknowledged concerns that Russia’s secrecy is similar to China’s when COVID-19 emerged in 2019 following what the FBI and other US agencies believe was a lab leak of the novel pathogen.“China didn’t say much, and Russia’s not saying much either.But they do say they have it very much under control,” Trump said.The president added, “I have a call set up” with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the crisis.

He did not say when the call would occur, noting that “today is Vladimir Putin’s birthday” and joking, “I’m sure you’re going to celebrate.”Trump said Russian officials are “sharing [information] a little bit with our people.We expect them to share it a lot with our people.”Shipilova died on Friday in a hospital outside Irkutsk, prompting a flurry of speculation that her illness was related to her work at the nearby Anti-Plague Research Institute.Some early reports said she broke a test tube at work before becoming ill and officials gave mixed messages about whether she died of pneumonic plague, which is almost always fatal unless treated early with antibiotics.Soviet scientists in the 1980...