Zoho's Sridhar Vembu links childhood vaccines to rising autism cases, draws backlash
The statement provoked a heated online debate, with the medical fraternity strongly criticizing the claim.
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has ignited a controversy by publicly asserting a link between childhood vaccines and the growing incidence of autism in India.
The Indian billionaire posted on X, advising parents to take seriously a controversial study that suggested a connection between pediatric vaccination and autism spectrum disorder. "I believe there is increasing evidence that we are giving way too many vaccines to very young children. This is spreading in India too and we are seeing a rapid increase in autism in India," Vembu wrote.
The statement provoked a heated online debate, with the medical fraternity strongly criticizing the claim. Experts specifically expressed disdain over the study Vembu cited, which was authored by controversial figures Peter McCullough and Andrew Wakefield. McCullough has faced debunked claims regarding vaccine safety, and Wakefield's 1998 study linking the MMR vaccine to autism was famously retracted from The Lancet.
Medical professionals swiftly condemned Vembu’s post for sharing unverified information.
Dr. Amit Gupta, a Clinical Lead for Neonatal Care at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, called the comments "utterly irresponsible," cautioning that such advice could lead to an infectious disease crisis.
Vembu defended his position against Dr. Gupta, arguing that a hyper specialist in neo-natal care could not "scientifically know all the long term effects of every shot we give young babies." He further accused the doctor of having "professional arrogance" stemming from institutional pedigree.
Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, a Hepatology and Liver Transplant Medicine Specialist known as "The Liver Doc," urged the public to continue vaccinating their children. "Please do not stop vaccinating your children. You don’t want polio to come back. You don’t want measles to kill your child," he wrote, adding that the cited study's conclusions were "not credible," as it was published by "a bunch of antivaxxers, funded by an antivaxx organization" and was not peer-reviewed.
Other experts weighed in, acknowledging that all previous studies linking vaccines and autism have failed to prove a link. Dr. Ennapadam Srinivas Krishnamoorthy, a Behavioural Neurologist, noted that while the evidence is "conflicting at best," vaccinations have definitely made a difference to childhood infections, mortality, and morbidity.
Dr. Karthikeyan Srinivasan, a Consultant Anaesthesiologist, respectfully asked Vembu to clarify the evidence, calling the post "too big a comment from an influential person" to be unverified.
