Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu’s recent assertion that childhood vaccination contributes to autism has been widely rebutted by experts. Decades of research and major health authorities maintain that no credible evidence supports a causal link between vaccination and autism.
Glimpse:
Vembu cited a non-peer-reviewed report claiming vaccines are a leading cause of autism, but that report is based on selective citing, lacks transparency and ignores the vast body of high-quality epidemiological research disproving such a link. Experts warn his statements risk undermining public confidence in vaccination programmes.
Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu recently reignited controversy when he posted on social media suggesting that India’s childhood vaccination schedule may be contributing to rising autism rates. He called on parents to consider the possibility seriously. His assertions triggered a swift backlash from medical professionals and fact-checking organisations.
Vembu referenced a review by the McCullough Foundation, which claims to analyse over 300 studies to implicate vaccines as a dominant autism risk factor. However, the cited piece is not published in a peer-reviewed journal, lacks methodological transparency, and draws from studies already discredited by the scientific community.
Medical experts emphasize that the idea of a vaccine-autism link originated from the infamous 1998 Lancet paper by Andrew Wakefield, which was later retracted due to scientific misconduct and ethical violations. Since then, multiple large-scale, high-quality epidemiological studies across diverse populations have failed to find any causal connection between immunisations (including combination vaccines and preservatives like thimerosal) and autism.
In response to Vembu’s post, Dr Cyriac Abby Philips (aka “The Liver Doc”) publicly challenged him, calling the claim “not credible,” “not peer reviewed,” and grounded in anti-vaccine rhetoric. He cautioned that such narratives could damage vaccine uptake and public health.
Public health authorities including the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and countless national immunization programs continue to affirm that vaccines are safe, effective, and unlinked to autism. The consensus across decades of investigation is clear: vaccines do not cause autism, and vaccination remains a critical tool for preventing serious childhood diseases.
“Sridhar Vembu’s claim linking childhood vaccines to autism is baseless and risks undermining public trust in immunisation. Global scientific evidence has repeatedly shown no causal connection.”
By
HB Team
