Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu warns Indian parents: ‘You are giving way too many vaccines’, links rise in autism to excess vaccination

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu sparked a heated debate after claiming that India may be vaccinating babies “too much” and that rising autism rates in the country were attributed to excessive childhood vaccinations. Sridhar Vembu claimed that India was giving “too many vaccines” to babies and attributed this to the rapid increase in autism cases. In a detailed post on The report, published by the McCullough Foundation, examined more than 300 studies and claimed that early and combined childhood vaccines pose a higher risk of autism than genetics, pollution or premature birth. His remarks stood out not just for their content but also for their timing, as India continues to push for stronger vaccination coverage in rural and urban areas.

Sridhar Vembu quotes report on autism risk

The report ranks vaccines above genetics, pollution and premature birth as possible risk factors. “Parents should take this analysis seriously. I believe there is growing evidence that we are giving too many vaccines to too young children. This is also spreading in India and we are seeing a rapid increase in autism in India,” Vembu wrote.
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The report claims that 79 percent of the studies reviewed showed evidence consistent with an autism link, adding that unvaccinated children consistently showed a lower risk of autism. The article includes contributions from Peter McCullough and Andrew Wakefield, who are known for their retracted article falsely linking the MMR vaccine to autism.

Earlier this year, Vembu drew criticism from doctors when he questioned the necessity of giving Hepatitis B vaccination to newborns. However, he argues that “asking such commonsense questions is not against science.”

However, the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that the vaccines are safe and effective. They note that multiple large-scale studies have found no link between childhood vaccines and autism.Also Read: ‘Don’t be afraid of red meat’: US cardiologist explains why non-veg foods aren’t bad for your heart and overall healthHealth experts continue to emphasize that vaccines are one of the most effective public health tools and that any misinformation could risk reversing decades of progress in preventing disease.

Trump brought up the issue about the vaccine

Recently, US President Donald Trump has also reignited the debate on the vaccine-autism issue. In a recent announcement at the White House, Trump suggested that vaccines may be linked to an increased risk of autism. However, he did not provide any new evidence or research to support the claim.

Public health officials in the United States immediately pushed back against that statement, reiterating that decades of scientific research has found no link between vaccines and autism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) maintain that vaccines are safe, effective, and necessary to prevent serious disease.

Trump had previously expressed similar views during his presidency, frequently questioning the number and frequency of vaccines given to children. His renewed comments have once again sparked concern among health experts; Experts have warned that such statements by high-profile figures could deepen public distrust and fuel vaccine hesitancy.

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