What Is Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu And The Vaccination Debate

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu recently ignited a controversial debate in medical science by promoting a study that claims vaccination is “the most significant preventable driver” of autism. 

The report published by the McCullough Foundation, alleging the link between childhood vaccines and autism, however, had not been peer-reviewed. In an X post, the Zoho founder, whose son is autistic, urged parents to take the study analysis seriously. “I believe there is increasing evidence that we are giving way too many vaccines to very young children,” he wrote on X.

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Nicolas Hulscher, Epidemiologist and Administrator at the McCullough Foundation, claimed that after decades of censorship and denial, its report delivered the verdict, noting that autism’s rise is multifactorial. “But vaccination is the MOST significant, preventable driver,” he wrote on social media platform X, while listing out potential other determinants of new-onset autism before age 9.

However, Sridhar Vembu’s promotion of the study, which was not peer-reviewed, has prompted reactions from medical experts. An award-winning Hepatologist, known on X as TheLiverDoc, appealed to people not to stop vaccinating their children. He pointed out that the so-called study and its findings were not credible and were anti-science. He said the authors are a bunch of antivaxxers, funded by an antivaxx organization, who published the study on their own antivaxx website, and that it was not peer-reviewed, not scrutinized.

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“The low IQ authors have selectively amplified weaker associations while dismissing robust epidemiological data from millions showing no vaccine-autism link,” the doctor underlined, highlighting that the largest study ever on this, a Danish study found no association between childhood vaccines and 50 different health conditions, including autism, asthma, and autoimmune diseases.

“These health illiterates have themselves taken these vaccines, given their children their vaccines, and seen them enjoy longevity and are now advising others to consider stopping vaccinations. How selfish and bigoted can this get? Uncle Ji, a wise Gujarati chessmaster, once told me, “Stay in your Lane”, before he got busted out of his game trying to glorify pseudoscience. You can also do the same and use the X payout from this engagement to fix your Arattai and Cherattai and whatever third-rate app you are cooking up to fool your spinal level thinking bhakt pals. Ok? Delete your post you lime soda without fizz,” TheLiverDoc wrote on X.

For the public and patients, please do not stop vaccinating your children. You don’t want polio to come back. You don’t want measles to kill your child like it is doing in the US because boomer uncles in charge of US Health Departments have become anti science.

The conclusions… https://t.co/PsCaeYQmw8 pic.twitter.com/RQM7dnIKBi

— TheLiverDoc™ (@theliverdr) October 28, 2025

Read Also: Meet Sridhar Vembu: Man Who Trained Local Talent, Turned Villages Into Thriving Software Hubs

Another healthcare professional, Dr Amit Gupta, who serves as Clinical Lead for Neonatal Care at Ohn Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford slammed the Zoho founder’s promotion of the ‘unscientific’ study, calling it “utterly irresponsible.”

“Luckily people don’t listen to folk like you, otherwise we would have an infectious disease crisis on our hands,” he wrote on X.

Notably, Sridhar Vembu has responded to the doctor’s advice, playing down the hyper-specialization in the medical field as a serious crisis now. “You are a hyper specialist in neo-natal care. You cannot possibly scientifically know all the long-term effects of every shot we give young babies because you do not clinically see those neo-natal babies once they grow out of that stage,” the Zoho founder wrote, requesting him to cultivate an open, curious mind.

“Professional arrogance arising from your institutional pedigree is completely unbecoming of a scientist. Your kind of hyper-specialization is itself a serious crisis in medicine today,” Sridhar added.

You are a hyper specialist in neo-natal care. You cannot possibly _scientifically_ know all the _long term_ effects of every shot we give young babies because you do not clinically see those neo-natal babies once they grow out of that stage.

Please cultivate an open curious mind…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) October 28, 2025

Many doctors and pubic have questioned the Zoho founder’s observation, wondering a man with no medical background arguing with someone who is an expert in their field. However, Sridhar has refused to bow down stating that he stand by all what he said.

“All you are doing is flaunting the medical degree like a shield. I refuse to do credential-worship. The most important medical advice is “we know little about the extremely complex system called the body and the body mind complex and we must be humble,” the Zoho founder wrote on X.

With all due respect, all you are doing is flaunting the medical degree like a shield. I refuse to do credential-worship.

The most important medical advice is “we know little about the extremely complex system called the body and the body mind complex and we must be humble”.

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) October 28, 2025